Crimson Sorrow
by Sakina the Fallen Angel
Summary: AU. A tale of angst, betrayal and despair. Waking up as a vampire with no memory of his former life, Ryou must go on a journey into the very heart of darkness whilst confronting his inner demon, the Great Vampire Bakura. R n R!
1. Prelude to Darkness

Summary: Doomed to walk the earth until he can unmake his maker, he sheds crimson tears. Waking up as a vampire with no memory of his former life, Ryou must go on a journey into the very heart of darkness whilst confronting his inner demon, the Great Vampire Bakura.

A Halloween angsty fic by yours truly, Sakina the Fallen Angel.

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Crimson Sorrow

Chapter I: Prelude to Darkness

It isn't every night that one wakes up with no memory of their former life. But for the white haired boy, blinking blearily, he knows something is wrong instantly. Why can't he remember anything? Who is he? Where is he?

Why is he clutching a wilted rose?

The dim orange streetlights bathe the alleyway in which he lies, creating a soft setting that disguises the filth, making it almost romantic. The pastel light throws shadows across his pale face, as he struggles to sit up. Clothes a mess, rings under his eyes, he could almost be mistaken for one of the junkies that so commonly litter these streets.

People walk past briskly, hands tucked into coat pockets, paying no attention to the poor confused boy a few yards away. They don't want to know. It isn't uncommon for these people to ignore everything apart from themselves; what is a small happy world could be taken away in an instant by the gleam of a knife, the sneer of your drunken ex-partner. Yes, these people know how to hold onto their comfort and security, for this is a very dangerous world they live in. Most often than not, deaths are unaccounted for; assumptions are made when the boy next door is ill or the uncle has flown out to another state.

His name comes first, a thread of hope in a labyrinth of darkness.

"My name is Ryou." A whisper. There is a shattered mirror in the bin opposite him; he reaches for it and peers at himself, at his pale, drawn face, so haggard. He is drawn to his soft brown eyes; they still seem to possess the innocence that was so rudely taken away from him, though it could be argued now that his clean slate memory is an innocence in itself.

The next thing he feels is a burning thirst. So sudden, like a damn bursting, it flows through his very veins, threatening to consume him. Biting his lip, he tries to get a grip on himself.

He recites everything he knows about himself, like they are a mantra to him as he twirls his rose, liking the feel of the thorns against his fingers. "My name is Ryou and I woke up in an alleyway. Apart from that, I have no idea of where I am or who I am or how I got here at all."

He can't ignore the thirst. It's driving him crazy. Repeating the mantra over and over again, he almost misses the catch.

His ears prickup. There is a clatter of footsteps at the opening of the alley. Straightening out his shirt, he stands up to investigate. A wave of dizziness hits him, and before he can stop himself, he has crashed back down. The dustbins clatter to the ground and the noise is enough to scare anyone off. In fact, it gives him a headache.

The dizziness is pounding in his head now, like the dull thud of his own heart. The thirst is becoming unbearable; waves of gold rise in front of him like the gates of Heaven.

"Are you OK honey?"

It is the person who was walking past. The golden colour he saw is her blonde hair and a light fragrance wafts from the glamorous clothes she is wearing. She is gazing at him with the utmost concern.

"Thirsty," he rasps gutturally, reaching out for her.

She rummages in her tiny bag and fishes out a small bottle of mineral water, giving it to him. He takes it and gulps the precious liquid in one go, handing the bottle back as he wipes his mouth.

He is feeling slightly better; his vision is less blurry, but his thirst still hasn't been satisfied. In fact, it has become a need now, a compulsion.

"Better?" The girl stands up to go, but the boy lays his hand on her arm.

"Please don't," he says. "I must thank you for your generosity." He stands up too, and presents her with the wilted rose. Though it is drooping, the colour of the petals is still crimson deep. She accepts it; it is the gesture that counts. It seems as if she is drawn into his soft brown eyes.

"I b-better go, my boyfriend is expecting me." But she doesn't turn to leave.

He holds her hands, and pulls her closer. She is running her hands over his back now, digging her fingers in. He arches his back, for the pain is giving him a strange sense of pleasure. He buries his face in her hair.

The fragrance is inflaming his passion, driving him beyond the point of despair. Eyes closed, he can feel what is left of his sanity slipping away, but who could say that he was sane in the first place? A boy with no memories could hardly be called sane. An explosion of fire dances before his eyes. Tilting his head slightly, her neck is suddenly bare.

A flash of impulse, and on instinct, he sinks his teeth into her vein, only they aren't teeth anymore…they're fangs…

The rose falls to the ground, the red petals blossom as blood.

"So long, my sweet…"

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How was that for a start? I wasn't too happy with it to be honest; I wanted it to be more romantic, but meh, what can you do? The tense changes into past tense in the next chapter too.

Happy Halloween, and a vampire Ryou plushie to all that review!


	2. The Nightmare Begins

Thanks to everyone who reviewed: Miriku-Yami's Queen of the Nile-Yami no Hikari, Ryou VeRua, Shadow Sanctuary, Kiweeo and flamethrowerqueen- good point, I will up the rating!

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Chapter II: The Nightmare Begins 

Night had fallen, and with night comes the shadows that darkness cannot hide during the day.

The girl shivered, pulling her coat closer to her body. She walked briskly, head down; the clacking of her heels empty in the chilly night air. No one knew where she was, nor would they care until it was too late.

Her tears slipped down her face as she threw the crumpled rose to the ground, trampling it. The scarlet petals lay scattered; marking her would be final resting-place. She never noticed the drop in temperature.

"Now why would you want to hurt such an innocent flower?" Arms wound around her body like a snake. In a fit of hysterics, she screamed; but no one was around to hear her.

"Help me!"

The tears were pouring down freely now, tales of an abused soul.

"Who are you?" She cried.

"I am Ryou and Bakura." The boy said quietly. "And you are about to die."

"No, d-don't," she begged, sobbing.

As Ryou swooped in for the kill he paused. There was something about her, something ever so familiar. Something different from all the others he'd taken over the weeks since his awakening. Maybe he'd known her in the past, before he'd lost his memory and woken as this…monster. He felt drawn to her somehow, like his first victim had been to him.

Ryou remembered those first thoughts he'd had as he'd broken into the girl's flesh all those weeks ago: of disgust, uncleanliness, pure horror. But that had all faded away as he lost control and drained her sweet elixir dry.

_Something awoke in him. He didn't know what it was, but as he clutched the dying girl, draining her of the last drops of her blood, it washed over him, sweeping him off his feet. This ecstasy, this intimacy; it was as if the whole universe was suddenly one with him, with the beating of her dying heart. They were locked together in the eternal dance of death! As he was borne away on the wings of death, from afar he saw the last sigh escape from her lips. He felt the soul leave the body, knew she had passed into the realms beyond. And yet he did not feel any sadness for his evil, merely the ecstasy that was pumping through his veins, still leading him on in his insane dance. _

Then the madness had begun. He'd been changed in some way, knew he was different. Stronger, more charismatic. Fearless. Alluring. A predator.

"I am Bakura," he'd whispered. The name was alien at the time, but as the weeks had flown, and with every passing victim the persona Bakura had grown and grown, becoming an essential part of himself, no matter how much he resisted.

He saw the world through his eyes and Bakura's, during the day he was Ryou; the sinister Bakura only came out to play at night. Ryou hated his counterpart, hated himself for the demonic thoughts he had and the sins he committed- each and every one a blemish on his soul, still he couldn't resist.

There was no hope for redemption now, only in understanding, finding his memory first. Only when he understood could he accept Bakura.

Yet, his first experience as being Bakura hadn't been pleasant. He'd fought with his emotions, as consciousness had been switched from Ryou to Bakura, back and forth.

Grief, pity, confusion- all alien to the demon Bakura. He'd lost this internal struggle, fainted, and in his last moments of consciousness he used his own blood to write on the wall- **_I am Bakura_**, in case his counterpart Ryou needed reminding. Not that he did.

xXx

The girl he was holding swooned, energy spent. In his arms she looked so serene. Ryou could see the bruise across her face. A perfect flower spoiled. At this moment, how he hated the one who'd done this to her.

Suddenly he felt ever so depressed. The blemish was making him upset, he knew he couldn't kill her now.

Fangs retracted, he took flight into the darkness, still clutching the girl, cradling her close to his body in a bid to protect her from the world.

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Short, but hopefully much more romantic! 


	3. Heart That Lies Within

Wow, thank you to everyone who reviewed, you really made my day! I know this isn't my most original work, but I've been going through a vampire phase for weeks now and just had to try this fic.

To clear things up, Bakura is the true vampire; Ryou...erm...the only way I can explain it is a 'human vampire'. Vague, I know, but more will be revealed.

8/11/05

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Chapter III: The Heart That Lies Within

He landed in an orchard, and laid the girl on the grass. The trees were silhouetted against the night sky, the long shadows thrown across the ground. If he was Ryou he might've been scared perhaps, that maybe the branches seemed to be reaching out for him, but he wasn't Ryou, he was Bakura. They'd switched on the flight. And his hunger had to be satiated.

The girl was still unconscious, her eyes closed, long strawberry hair spilling down her shoulders. She looked like an angel, and he felt sad again as he thought how he could never be as pure as she. The moment of Ryou passed, his soft features sharpened as he took on his vampire form, cradling her head.

The moon shone through the trees, and anyone could've mistaken the pair for a couple. Had they looked closer, this picture of intimacy would've turned into a picture of horror. As he sank his fangs into her neck, the girl moaned.

"Hush," Bakura whispered. He drank enough to slake his thirst, then pricked his finger on the thorns of the rose stem he'd taken from the girl. Using his blood, he fed a few droplets into her system and sealed the wound. He'd never done this before. In a few seconds the bruise across her face had disappeared, and she took on a much healthier glow.

_Are you happy?_ Ryou nodded. His first act of goodness, since his awakening. The demon Bakura slunk back into his mind, taking all of Ryou's dark thoughts with him. Now Ryou had to get her home, but he didn't even know what the girl was called let alone where she resided.

"Serenity," she mumbled sleepily, eyes fluttering.

"Shhh, sleep," Ryou whispered, closing her eyelids. _Serenity._ What a beautiful name.

Sweeping her up, he took flight again. The knowledge of where she lived had been easy enough to extract from her mind in that flit of consciousness. Ryou had to concentrate to ignore the sadness that emanated from her thoughts. She'd been happy once, but that had been a long time ago before the pain.

Focusing, Ryou landed on a tree branch outside her window. It was open, the curtains billowing in the night air. A scent of honeysuckle enveloped his senses. Climbing into her bedroom, he lowered the sleeping girl onto her bed, tucking her in. With one last glance at her, Ryou lowered his head and took off. His pure white hair shielded his face, and if anyone had seen the angel that night they would've seen behind him, a trail of glistening tears.

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More characters will be featured later as the story develops. Sorry if it's a bit short; I've just had a maths exam and really should be revising... 


	4. Of Whispered Dreams

Heh, short again I know. My last exam will be over tomorrow, and then I'll be able to get on track! Until then, my friends!

10/11/05

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Chapter IV: Of Whispered Dreams

Ryou headed home to his mansion, wiping the tears from his face. Since his awakening, he'd found a curious golden key hung around his neck, and being a patient vampire had tried all the houses in this town. This had taken a while, so imagine his surprise when he found it unlocked one of the oldest, most secluded estates.

The gates swung open, creaking. Of course he could just fly home, but he liked the gothic feel the place gave him. If he wasn't in such a hurry, he might've stopped to admire the grotesque statues, and crumbling fountains, but tonight, he hurried up the winding path.

His encounter with the girl had opened a whole new Pandora's box, and he wanted to have a chat with his counterpart about her.

"Bakura?" He called into the living room. The fireplace immediately sprang into life, warming the rosy armchairs that were sat hunched around. Ryou tossed his trenchcoat aside and focused his mind.

Seeing through each other's eyes was easy, it was calling the demon up into a separate consciousness that was the challenge. Finally, Bakura came, and their souls split.

"Yes?" He smirked, baring his fangs. "You have been weeping, I see. Poor pitiful human vampire you are indeed."

"It's about the girl." Ryou said dully.

"We know indeed, do tell!" The boy's energy was spent; Bakura's eyes gleamed mischievously. Now this would be fun.

_As this strange conversation continued, Serenity walked down the narrow halls. She could hear their voices, see their shadows thrown across the walls. What was this place? She stopped to admire some ornate trinkets. A big golden ring, with an eye in the centre watched her like a hawk. Shaken, she stepped away and continued down the corridor until she was right in the living room. She could see the backs of the armchairs where the two sat. Were they talking about her?_

_"You don't remember, do you? I spared her life."_

_"No, you didn't, it was me."_

_"Ha, why don't we ask her ourselves?"_

_They both turned around: Bakura smirking, Ryou shocked. Serenity took a step back, but it was too late. The white haired angel and demon blurred, became one and loomed over her._

She screamed, and woke in her room. Pulling her mirror towards her, she whimpered as she noted the bruise gone. Her fingers travelled to her neck, registering the warm smooth flesh where there was definitely no sign to suggest she'd ever encountered anything more than a cold.

xXx

In another bedroom, in another part of the city, a brown haired girl tossed and turned in her sleep. Jerking awake, she tried to remember what her dream had been about.

Quickly, before the images faded from her mind, she reached for a paintbrush amidst all the paint pots and rainbow-coloured easels scattered everywhere.

Something regarding a white haired angel…

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Roses for the one who can guess who this other girl is! 


	5. A Rose by Night

To me, this chapter dragged a bit, but hey. To everyone who guessed correctly, the girl is indeed Téa but I shall be referring to her as Anzu, as to me that name is prettier. Roses go to: **Silky Cat**, **Miriku-Yami's Queen of the Nile-Yami no Hikari**, **flamethrowerqueen**, and **Ryou VeRua **for guessing correctly!

Other thanks go to: **frozenworld-trappedsoul**, **Yaoi Lover 626 **and **xXRoseGoddessXx**!

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Chapter V: A Rose by Night 

It was getting hopeless. None of the victims he'd taken so far had known him at all, so Bakura had forced him to kill them and carry on searching. And every person he'd asked had had to die- the penalty for not knowing who he was. It was almost as if the memory of him, his impression on the world had been wiped clean.

"Who am I?" He yelled into the star-studded sky, but only the leaves answered him as they trembled, spiralling to the ground.

For a week now since his first encounter with Serenity, he'd perched in her tree every night and watched her, sometimes for hours. From the moment the stars rose until the seconds before they set, he'd managed to find time from the hunt to watch her delicate sleeping frame.

And every night, before he left for his lair, he'd lain a single rose by her windowsill, jewelled petals sparkling in the frosty morning air. By the time the sun rose, he was back inside his mansion, where he would let the demon Bakura rest for the day in a vampiric slumber.

Yet, there was something strange about the nature of the relationship between Ryou and Bakura. Ryou had found that if he'd slept through the night, that is, let Bakura have full reign over his body then he could tolerate the daylight. Bakura on the other hand couldn't do this, which was strange to Ryou- just another one of the mysteries he had to worry about. However, his actual body still needed rest so either Bakura or Ryou would have to sacrifice time for sleep.

Of course, it was Bakura who got his own way as usual.

That day, Ryou managed to stay up after getting a few hours sleep. It was still weird trying to get used to these erratic hours- whoever he'd been, Ryou was sure he'd led more of a normal life.

It was early afternoon, the sunlight streaming through curtained gaps, and he killed the hours by sitting in the library of his mansion and reading. Whoever had left him the key to the mansion had furnished it very well, amongst the gothic novels and classy literature there seemed to be a whole manner of books on the supernatural, notably vampires.

A lot of it was very interesting to Ryou indeed; he found that he did have a reflection and didn't have the natural aversion to sunlight, but that was only if he'd been asleep the night. On Bakura he had no idea- the demon was always asleep during day, and only during day did Ryou have no dark thoughts.

xXx

Bakura opened his eyes, and stretched. He'd been bored for a week, thanks to Ryou's stupid memory search. Tonight he could have some fun torturing the Serenity girl for revenge. Mind games are so much fun.

But feeding had to come first. As he exited the alley, wiping his jaw he bumped into a girl, wildly carrying parcelled bundles of what looked like art equipment- fresh paint, more brushes. He growled at her and she yelped, scurrying away. If it had been any other time he would've killed her instantly, but his hunger was satiated and he didn't see the point in killing humans for fun; after all that only depleted his food supplies.

In his hand he held a black rose and was contemplating on whether to deliver it to the Serenity girl to annoy Ryou. He decided to wait until Ryou woke up, which would be very soon. That human vampire could sense her from a mile off- they were so finely tuned to her from just a week of stalking.

"Serenity?" He murmured blearily in his mind.

"Just sleep, human vampire," Bakura sniggered, knowing full well that Ryou wouldn't. That human vampire would watch him like a hawk to make sure he didn't do anything to his precious Serenity.

Maybe it was to tortureRyou that he kept his distance from the Serenity girl. He wouldn't let Ryou know he could read thoughts either, Bakura didn't want him to know that Serenity had been wondering about the roses he'd sent, or that she'd been having whispered dreams of him.

Would he really be that cruel? Another time.

Flinging the black rose to the ground, Bakura took flight on impulse. He would go touch the stars before the night was over.

xXx

It had taken all day, almost all night and a whole week's worth of grief. But as Anzu stepped back from her painting, exhausted, she felt a sense of overwhelming pride. This had been her first masterpiece in months, and what a picture it was. Beaming, she held it up against the window and marvelled at how easily she'd managed to capture the spirit.

She felt like she knew the boy, had seen him even, though she couldn't quite place where. It was strange, but somehow she knew the boy existed and that he was nearby even though she couldn't know.

Call it sixth sense, or whatever, but she was going to track him down. Her painting had already been sold to one of the richest men here, a CEO of some company or another and he would be coming round to pick it up in a few days. She was almost sad now to be parting with her painting so soon, but she really needed the money.

After Yugi had walked out on her… Shaking her head, she turned back to the white-haired boy in the painting.

She'd had more dreams of him, and knew that he would be the greatest source of inspiration she could hope to find for her art. An angelic demon with atortured soul? As she'd painted, she'd known that he wasn't human, couldn't possibly be. And if he wasn't an angel or a demon, then what else could he be?

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How was it? 


	6. Encounter

Don't kill me people for this being short. Since my exams, I now have to catch up on a month's worth of homework, so I will try and get these chapters up asap.

Thanks for all your encouragement, I will try and respond to all your reviews personally!

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Chapter VI: Encounter

Instinct had led her to the busy streets of town, to the rotting side alleys, and it was there she spied the cloaked figure emerging. It was the same cloaked figure she'd seen the night before, when she'd been running back to her apartment with her art materials.

She held her breath. Yes, he was about that height. Brimming with excitement, she hastened to follow him as he made his way through the throng of people.

He seemed to be moving completely erratically, and had doubled back more than once, always down the same street. The only people she knew on this street were the Wheeler residence, and the last time she'd seen any one of them had been…well, at the duelling tournament when they'd all still been friends.

When they'd all still believed in friendship.

The figure was turning away now, headed towards the orchard. Dewdrops caught the hem of her coat, and her breath came out patterned in the crisp air. He had stopped, and was apparently admiring the moon.

"Don't think I didn't know you were stalking me." Taking a tentative step forward, she froze as he whirled around, on fire.

"What are you doing following me, and give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right here and now," he snarled, eyes flashing.

He was the complete picture of her painting; every detail caught magically on canvas. The only thing different was that she hadn't caught his cruel features blurring with the soft, merely the eyes dancing with sadness.

Luckily for her, she recovered from shock quickly.

"If you thought I was a threat then you would've already killed me by now," she replied coolly, meeting his gaze head on.

He grinned slowly. _Ahhh, a good one,_ he thought. _She knows what I am, but what does she want_?

"You are pretty fearless for a mortal, aren't you…Anzu?" Her name had been so easy to extract from her mind.

Now this time there was a smidgen of fear on her pretty face. Backing away slowly, she stammered, "H-how…did y-you…?"

Suddenly he was beside her. "How did I know? Well, for a mortal who knows what I am, you are pretty ignorant. Go do your homework, my sweet." He swept her in a crushing kiss, before taking a leap into the sky and was gone.

Stunned, she felt the bruise on her lip. She'd broken out in a cold sweat, but never before had she felt more excited. She had met a vampire. And he hadn't killed her. Of course she'd always believed in this kind of stuff, ever since she was little. That was why she wanted to become a painter in the first place; to capture what others could only dream of.

Smiling, her fingers brushed her lips again. And had that been a challenge?

Tomorrow night, Anzu would stalk the vampire again.

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To clear up all confusion, the person who Anzu just met was Bakura. Now click the lil' button and review review review! 


	7. When Realities Blur

Better do a summary thing of the story so far:

OK, Ryou woke up in an alley with no memory, and soon discovered he had a darker side to himself, as well as a taste for blood. One day he picks up suicidal thoughts from a girl he is about to kill and saves her, as he feels their souls are both the same. For many nights, he sits outside her house, staring at her in longing, too shy to do anything whilst Bakura grows impatient. At this point, Ryou still believes he and Bakura to be the same person. Another girl has been having dreams of the vampire and has done a masterpiece of a painting, and so the story unfolds…

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Chapter VII: When Realities Blur

_That portrait painting on the wall  
__Hangs as if it were alive, I recall_

The said painting had been framed in gold, and was currently hung up in one of the most resplendent suites in town. Angel eyes gazed down on all those who dared to look up at the feathery being that was ever so delicately portrayed. There was maybe a hint of confusion in his eyes, a tiny slither that threw open the gates of hell to a soul in constant turmoil.

At least, that's how the owner liked to see it, but currently, there was no one around. Or so it seemed.

In a dark basement, a young man sat methodically polishing stakes, eyes gleaming as he did so. Around him lay strange mystical objects, dark bottles of glistening liquid, foreign talismans, a crossbow and various flame-throwers. A deck of cards littered the stone floor. When the wooden stakes were gleaming, he laid them aside and turned to the rest of his arsenal, sighing wearily.

Strange, it was only in the afternoon, but having a blazing fire going in the hearth does do things to you. Why did it get so cold down here when it was still early autumn?

Nodding, he drifted into uneasy slumber.

xXx

_Two figures sat in high armchairs with their backs to him. Their silhouettes were thrown across the wall; they were both in very animated discussion. Flames danced across his vision and he tried to listen to what they were saying. It felt important._

"_Do we honestly have to repeat this conversation over and over again, human vampire? You are driving me crazy!"_

"_Just once more, please, I have to understand." _

"_You do understand, we both understand. I know and you know."_

"_Stop mocking me…So…we are the same person, right?"_

_An exasperated sigh. "Of course we are, human vampire. Whatever you feel, I feel too and vice versa."_

"_Then that means that you must be an embodiment for all the evil and dark thoughts that I-"_

"_Whatever. If you don't have anything more interesting to say then I shall go back to sleep. I need my rest, just like you do too boy."_

"_Hmmm."_

"_I **will** have a busy night tonight, I can feel it!"_

"_Why, what are you planning on doing?"_

"_Oh, this and that. Feeding, and the like. Your girlfriend is ever so pretty, isn't she?"_

"_Serenity? She's not my girlfriend."_

"_Don't look at me like that. I can read your every thought, like they are my own. You can't get mad with me now! Plus, I want to show you the powers I can give you, the powers we can both share."_

"_No, I don't want any more of your dark tricks, even if we are the same person. I just want to-"_

"_To fly?" _

"_I wasn't going to say flying, I was going to say that I want to find my memory and find out who I am…was."_

"_You know you love flying so, admit it." _

_Another sigh. "OK, yes I do. There we go, are you happy?"_

"_Of course! And you know what? You can do it too when you're with me. Just imagine it, the feel of swooping through the air, the magical rush of the wind, ever so romantic, just how you like it too. And that's only one of the powers that I can grant you. You only have to say the word, and together, we can fly. We can do anything, go anywhere, conquer the world…"_

"_Stop enticing me, you know I can't resist flying!"_

_He couldn't listen to anymore. Withdrawing from the room, he came face to face with a strange golden ring. It's spikes were all pointed in his direction, and the eye in the middle seemed to be blinking slowly. Yelling, he crashed down and awoke._

xXx

Sweating, he jolted up. His hand was clutched around a stake, knuckles white. Checking the time, he saw that it was evening already. He'd slept through the whole afternoon. What was that room, with those strange people? And that artifact, it really freaked him out. In all his years of bounty hunting, he'd never seen anything like that before. Whatever he'd seen, whether it'd been real or not, it had convinced him though.

He strapped his bandoleer to his body, and slipped on his trench coat. Picking up the deck of cards, he selected one, and closed his eyes, chanting. A blue dragon appeared for a second, then vanished in a puff of smoke. An eerie light seemed to glow from within his body, causing the card to glow too.

He loved the rush, the feel of the fire flowing through his veins. The magical boost he received from this session would be enough. Eyes glowing slightly, he checked his crossbow and gun, and left the room, locking the big wooden door behind him.

As he left the mansion, even more reports of dead corpses being discovered played across the halls from the TV. Mysteriously, they'd all been killed the same way. It didn't matter now. At first, it had been perhaps for some vanity, that he could see himself as a protector of the living maybe. But to him now, this was all a game. He would get them all in the end. No monsters deserved to walk this earth, none other than the undead.

Few people know that Seto Kaiba had sold his soul to the shadows in exchange for dark secrets and magic; fewer people know that by night he walks as a vampire slayer.

* * *

Didn't expect that twist? Hold onto your duelling cards for the next chappy will be up soon! 


	8. Fight or Flight

OK, some points I need to make:

In my AU, there are duellists, and there are Duellists. Normal duellists are like the ones in the anime/manga, who play battles with cards etc. but Duellists take it further, as well as the duelling, they also practice summonings and shadow/dark magic. They're kinda like a secret underground magic cult-type-thing.

In the last chapter when you saw Kaiba with his duelling cards- that was an example of what I've been talking about. Kaiba duels as a duellist and practices the shadow magic of a 'Duellist'.

* * *

Chapter VIII: Fight or Flight

As Anzu walked past the alley, trying to keep an eye on the figure she was stalking, she bumped into another person.

"Sorry," she mumbled, craning her head so as not to lose him.

"Whatever," the person replied coldly, pushing her out of the way. For a split second, Anzu saw a pair of eyes flash in the darkness beneath his hood but then he was gone, swish of cloak all that indicated that man had even existed.

She resumed her stalking, shaken but not put off. She was almost certain it was the vampire this time. So many times, she found out she'd been following the wrong guy. She **would** find his lair and capture him again on paint. If that one painting could pull her out of debt, out of the deep red then imagine how much she could make from others. Plus, it was in her blood- the thrill of the art; the web of kaleidoscopic colours- she couldn't resist the call of the artist as much as the vampire couldn't resist the call of the blood.

It was only when she was walking home, weary and disappointed, that she remembered the glowing eyes of the strange man. Chilling, they'd been, almost as if they were Duellists' eyes…

Ryou stood outside Serenity's house, a bunch of crimson roses in one hand. He was gazing at the moon, watching the beautiful moonlight and feeling so unhappy. What was he doing in this world, a boy who didn't belong?

_Get on with it so I can go see the Anzu woman!_ Came the hiss of Bakura in his mind. _We already missed her last night, how I love to watch her hopeless attempts at stalking us!_

Ryou ignored the demon, but Bakura was right. He was hungry and needed the blood tonight. Since meeting Serenity, he'd withdrawn whenever he needed to feed, letting his darker side take over to satisfy his hunger. Maybe that was how he got his nickname 'human vampire'. But oh, how he would need the blood tonight…

Leaving the roses by her window again- he saw the other ones in a vase on a table by her bed- he was gone in a blur, to mingle with the throng of people in the inner city.

There was something different in the atmosphere tonight. He could feel it in the air, and it was making him depressed. He felt like this whenever he saw Serenity too, her suicidal thoughts having clung to him once he'd cleansed them from her mind, but this time it was different. It was almost as if the world was holding its breath, waiting.

_Careful,_ Bakura whispered, opening a lizard eye.

_Maybe we should go back, _Ryou murmured.

There was someone who was making him feel very uneasy. A cloaked figure, sitting in a café, seemed to be staring straight at him with a wicked smile. Ryou turned around, but when he looked back the figure had disappeared.

As he made his way back to Serenity's house, he felt slightly better. He could still sense the Anzu woman following him- felt Bakura's glee- but ignored her. She wasn't important right now, merely an annoyance.

He stopped outside the window. Something was different. Instead of hearing her soft breathing, Ryou heard the definite sound of weeping.

"S-stop it! It's late, I want to go to sleep."

"Come on sis, it's only a flower."

"Give it back Joey! You know I'm not your little sister anymore so why do you still keep teasing me?"

"Sheesh, it was only a joke."

"Well it was never a joke to me!"

There was an awkward silence, punctuated by snuffled sobbing.

The doorbell rang; Balancing on the branch, Ryou pressed himself closer to get a better view.

"Serenity, it's for you!"

"Tell them to go away!" She sniffed sullenly.

_How pathetic!_ Bakura taunted.

The tears were still streaming down her face, smudging her crystal features, blurring her innocence. How Ryou yearned to comfort her there and then. The door opened and a young man entered the room.

He had jet-black hair and intense green eyes that were darkened with concern. A pair of dice dangled from his ear and as soon as he saw Serenity he rushed up to her, embracing her.

"Serenity!"

"Duke." Her voice was more subdued. She wiped her puffy eyes. "It's good to see you."

"You too," Duke said, closing his eyes and holding her.

"Oh Duke, I'm so messed up!" She cried, breaking down in tears again.

"Of course you'd be upset, given your situation," he murmured, breathing in her scent.

"S-so you heard then, about me and-"

"Shhh." He stroked her strawberry hair, still holding her. "Don't worry, everything's fine now. I'm so glad I managed to come home tonight to see you." Both their eyes were closed in sweet bliss.

_Aww, they look such a couple, don't they?_ Bakura leaned back and waited.

Ryou felt something he never had before then. Eyes closed, he fell as if he'd been struck. It was a volcano erupting, a molten sunburst, an explosion of stars. It was a knife-sharp fury that grew and grew, tearing him apart from the inside out. From afar, he saw his heart being ripped out and tossed into a black hole.

"Serenity!" He cried fruitlessly, reaching for her but knowing she was lost. How could you do this to me?

_She doesn't even know you exist._

"These flowers are nice."

_You're nothing to her._

"Roses," Serenity's singsong voice drifted to Ryou's ears.

_How could you think you meant anything when she doesn't even know who you are?_

"Who sent them?"

I thought you were mine.

_You thought wrong._

"I…I don't know." Was there a hint of uncertainty?

"It's OK, Serenity. I'll always be here for you."

Each word was a dagger wound to his chest. Ryou turned away, sparkling tears frozen in the night. Slamming his fist against the wall, he flew away, head bowed in despair.

Anzu's breath came out in ragged gasps as she rounded the corner.

"Angel!" She whispered into the night sky, reaching out for the empty space he'd just occupied. "Damn!"

xXx

Ryou flew round in circles, shutting out all thought because every thought took him back to that last scene and that made him hurt deep inside. Reptilian instinct took over. He hated the Duke boy, hated him with a passion. Serenity was his, and only his. The broken shell of a soul he'd rescued that night belonged to him, and to him only.

How long he flew he didn't know, but as he touched the treetops he spied the Duke boy leaving Serenity's house. That's it, he thought, viperous eyes lighting up. He would make the Duke boy pay. _With his life._

"That's it," Bakura whispered, the embodiment of evil right beside Ryou. "Set your **darker** side free."

Ryou touched down softly, and stalked the boy silently, keeping exactly ten paces behind. The boy had his hands in his pockets and was whistling to himself, the dice hanging from his ear swinging to and fro with his jaunty movements.

Duke didn't realise it until it was too late; too wrapped up in his thoughts of Serenity he'd been. The last thing he saw was a pair of soft brown eyes, only this time they shone with a crimson intensity. The last thing he felt was his undying love for his childhood friend, even though she'd returned his love until now; and how he'd never see her again when he'd just found her. Then came the fear. He screamed, but that didn't stop the nightmare that was an angel from closing in.

xXx

"Oh, no," Anzu whispered, hand to her mouth. She'd just witnessed the death of her friend, witnessed the demon perform his final rites. Now all she wanted to do was to scream and scream and scream, but then he'd come for her.

xXx

Kaiba whipped around. He felt another death, this one not too far away. His eyes narrowed; a thin smile. The demon was near…

xXx

Anzu took a step forward. The vampire was still crouched over the body, as if in shock as to what he'd just done. He looked up and his eyes met Anzu's, a look of intense horror that branded her soul.

"What have I done?" He whispered, snowy bangs falling across his face.

Nothing could save him anymore, apart from himself.

Anzu edged closer, sickened yet fascinated. She'd gotten over the death pretty quick. _What will be, will be_. This gothic nightmare was spurring her imagination, so much inspiration!

"Go away, or you'll suffer the same fate," the boy intoned darkly, head still down.

Suddenly, on impulse, he turned tail and ran away.

"Wait!" Anzu called, giving chase. The coward! Her portrait muse! "Damn it again!"

He was running towards the orchard; the only place in this town where he could find sanctity. She saw him clutch his head in agony, as if he was fighting some invisible being, then pain as sharp as lead seared through her body and she fell forwards, yelling.

Another explosion, further ahead. White light. And flickering flames that licked the night. So much confusion, so much noise. The pain was throbbing through her body now. So much bloody colours. Looking down, she saw her shirt stained red.

Ryou had stopped, and turned around, trembling.

A cloaked man stepped out of the darkness, wielding a flame-thrower menacingly.

"Which one of you is the demon?" He demanded icily, pointing the flame at Anzu, then Ryou. "I demand that you show your **true form**!"

Ryou roared as he felt a needle sharp pain stab through his body. Bakura flooded in, seizing control.

_I'll take over from here, so sleep, human vampire._

"Somebody call?" Bakura said, smirking. Kaiba took a step back. "Long time I haven't heard the Call of the Haunted, tsch, from a _Duellist_ of all mortals. My, my, this will be fun."

Kaiba narrowed his eyes. "Indeed it will."

Bakura sniffed, tossing his hair back. "I don't believe we've met before."

"Too right we haven't, but what's the point of shallow introductions, when I'm going to bring an end to your miserable existence in the next few minutes?"

Bakura stared at the obstinate stranger. "You know what I am then? And yet you do not cower?"

"Why should I?" Kaiba said defiantly, thrusting out his chin. His cold blue eyes met Bakura's.

xXx

_Am I dying? Well then, if I am then dying isn't so bad_, Anzu thought muzzily. From afar she saw the blood seeping through her blouse, saw her ripped arm hanging lifeless beside herself as the exchange of remarks carried on below. _My life hasn't been wasted; at least I've left my legacy forever, immortalised in my painting…_

xXx

"If you knew what I am then you would be running, pathetic mortal," Bakura spat. He drew himself up to his full height. "For I am the Great Vampire Bakura, and you are about to die."

"Touching," Kaiba replied loftily. "Well, seeing as we _are_ one for the introductions then allow me to introduce myself. Seto Kaiba, legendary Duellist extraordinaire and Slayer of the Undead."

He flung his cloak aside, revealing his midnight trenchcoat. Bowing his head, he smiled sadly as he drew his firearm, pointing it at head height. "I know what you are indeed, and I have studied your kind. So vampire, prepare to meet your unmaker."

"You may be here to destroy me, but I am afraid that might not be so easy as it seems." And with that, Bakura leapt for Kaiba's throat.

Almost with a supernatural speed Kaiba dodged him, leaving a white blur where he'd been.

There was a blast, and Bakura howled, falling back.

"My hair! I will kill you, brat!" Once again, Bakura sprung up and lunged, this time managing to strike the side of Kaiba's face.

Reeling back, Kaiba brought his flame-thrower down upon Bakura's head.

"Arghh!" With a blur, suddenly Bakura had Kaiba in a lock, and began to squeeze him slowly to death. But then he was thrown back.

Kaiba's eyes glowed brightly, and a magnetic wind whipped up around him as he advanced towards the fallen vampire. He drew out a stake, stroking it tenderly.

"Your eyes!"

"Yes, I'm sure you've seen a Duellist's eyes before." Kaiba smiled nastily. "But before I end your suffering, I'm sure you'd like to see a taste of my vast abilities."

Bakura cowered in fear as Kaiba advanced.

xXx

_It wasn't as if we set the place on fire. The flame just…slipped. Why couldn't ma ever see that? It was an accident, not like I was bullying someone, like that floozy Tristan used to until we sorted him out. Sure, I haven't been the best person but it wasn't my fault Yugi left me, was it? And the gambling? When did I lose it all? It's too late for regrets now. Ha, at least I can go to heaven or hell or wherever knowing that I kissed a vampire._

xXx

Kaiba waved his hand and a golden lasso appeared. Magical lines began to crisscross, becoming more real by the second until in it's place was a deadly net. Kaiba flung the net over Bakura, and lacerations immediately appeared wherever the wire cut him.

He roared, but the net tightened its hold.

_Damn you, Bakura, it only works on evil! _Ryou screamed, shoving Bakura out.

At once the net disappeared, and the cool smirk of Kaiba's face vanished too. Wounds bleeding profusely, Ryou dashed towards the fallen girl before Kaiba had a chance to bring up his flame-thrower.

Her eyes were open; there was still life. Well he may be damned but he couldn't have another death on his conscience. Scooping up the limp girl into his arms he took a running leap and was away, the darkness being all the shelter he needed.

The burns were painful; the lacerations to his throat were bleeding freely…and the girl. Now he needed the healing blood more than ever.

Kaiba watched the vampire flee until he was too thickly cloaked in the night. With a thin smile, he turned away, the slow, empty footsteps breaking the still night air, echoing across the lonely lamp lit street.

* * *

What a rollercoaster ride! I owe everyone an explanation for Kaiba; his history will be explained in the next chapter, which won't be up until Monday! Keep on reviewing! 


	9. Letters to a Brother

I'm taking it nice and slow for a chapter now, thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far! I'm gonna take advantage of this new Private Messaging system, so expect a few calls from yours truly!

21/11/05

* * *

Chapter IX: Letters to a Brother

In a candlelit room clothed in darkness, a figure sat, hunched at a desk. The scritch-scratch of a fountain pen could be heard, and the dim candlelight threw shadows across the walls, where a painting hung of two smiling boys, frozen in time.

_Dear Mokuba,_

_I'm sorry, little brother, for I have failed you again. I could not rescue you that one time and I could not avenge you last night. I hope that you will forgive me, your brother who has strived for vengeance all these years. _

_Not one day passes when I don't think of your smiling face; the sadness it brings into my life reminds me of who I am, why I'm still here._

_Damn it, last night that one should've been mine, his own arrogance should've been his undoing. I won't describe the magic lasso again, I'm sure you've heard enough through all my other 'kills'. Back to this one- he was mine, but then what? Another spirit I sensed! I completely forgot about the other one, the purer one. That is what drew me to him in the first place, the two souls that collided, called through the bones of all Duellists magic. That is how advanced I am now, in the art of Duellist._

_I will not let you down again. I swear it, Mokuba, I won't rest until the whole abomination has been destroyed, that I have vowed and vow again. You will have your vengeance through me._

_Seto Kaiba_

Seto Kaiba placed his fountain pen down and closed the leather-bound tome. A single tear splashed onto the volume. Wiping it away, he placed the tome into his secret safe, and descended down to his basement to sharpen his stakes.

xXx

When the housekeeper came in to clean Kaiba's room he stopped. The painting of his master and his late brother had been swung back, revealing a safe which hadn't been locked. Sighing, the housekeeper went to the safe to close it, and found the book. Curiosity getting the better of him, he opened it tentatively, and read:

_Please, if nobody can comfort my aching soul then at least hear my cry, for there is no light, no truth! For so many years I have lived thus, believing it to be true, that there was indeed justice, but from last night, I can say that with my heart I just don't believe in anything anymore._

_I never knew my parents; you were all I had. Why me? Why? Wasn't not knowing my parents enough? How much more suffering can there be, to be brought up in an orphanage where nobody knows who you are, nobody loves you? To have to claw your way out of the gutter, with no one by your side apart from your little brother, your only anchor of hope in the world that just doesn't want to know._

_My poor brother! I thought we were safe, that nothing could harm us. I had acquired enough money from my genius; we were living as well as we could have when disaster struck. _

_I never believed in them at all, they were merely flights of fancy that attributed themselves to the minds of foolish people. In fact, then I believed in them as much as I believed in magic, and my opinion of them was the same, which goes to show. Well, they came for us in the night, of course, inhuman monsters they were. I thought they were the locals at first, but the speed in which they moved, the delicacy and darkness in their eyes! I should've acted sooner, but what chance would my security have stood anyway, against something that moved like liquid ice? _

_They took Mokuba; I only survived because I was in the living room at the time and had fire as a weapon. They came in through his bedroom, I knew they were after me from the start, but once they saw they couldn't get me they took him instead. And now, my hand is shaking, as I write, I can't trust myself to name these creatures for to name them would make them real. So I write…they are vampires, nosferatu, the undead, for what else could have faces as ghastly as those and drink the blood of my servants so innocent?_

_Today I renounce my duelling to take up a far more darker art, the art of the true Duellist. It involves a calling of spirits, rituals of dark sorcery and secrecy. Some may call it shadow magic, but I trouble myself not with these names. Perhaps I spoke a bit harshly. I will merely lay off my duelling tournaments for a while until I have mastered this new art, for I have discovered that the only power us mortals have against them is the ability of shadow magic, to control the very darkness they reside in._

_And so, from this day forth, my soul shall be tainted with dark blood, it will no longer be pure and that I have to be sorry for. But for Mokuba, for all that I have left in this world, I swear that I will seek these creatures down and destroy them as they did my soul. Let this be a record of my innocence lost, a marker for a new era in the life of the great Seto Kaiba._

The housekeeper shook his head sadly. Master Kaiba had changed so much since that incident, he'd changed even as he'd been writing this entry, the housekeeper could see that. He wished there was something he could do, but Seto had long since stopped talking to him or the other servants. He'd confided his sorrows to him once in the past, but that had ceased as all communication ceased. All he could do now was to hold his tongue, protect the secrets of the Kaiba name until the day would come for judgement.

Sighing, he placed the book back and swung the painting back to it's rightful position. Seto Kaiba would have to be more careful in the future. Switching off the light, he left the room. The dining room hadn't been cleared yet; there was plenty of work that still needed to be done.

* * *

Hope that explained everything, and keep reviewing! 


	10. Moonlit Waltz

Aww, reviews are falling short. No matter, on with the story!

23/11/05

* * *

Chapter X: Moonlit Waltz

_Come with me  
__Come dance with me  
__Lose yourself in the magic  
__of the waltz_

Anzu stirred, rising slowly from the stretch that is neither sleep nor wakefulness, the time in which you are still half dreaming, not really sure of where you are. On emerging from her sleep, she found herself staring at an ornately decorated ceiling of white plaster. Curiosity arisen, she discovered she was lying in a lavish four-poster bed, in a room that was the complete picture of a period piece. On a chair lay an elegant period dress in sky blue and on the dressing table she spied her art materials; the very same ones she'd been carrying that night when…when…

Looking down, she almost yelled when she saw her arm completely healed. She was sure the wound had been fatal, she'd been bleeding to death whilst her angelic demon had fought with another.

He'd transformed, she remembered, mind afire with the images. The blinding light, the intense roar, the back arching, then evil had dominated his face. The same evil she'd met on her first encounter, the same evil who'd kissed her. The evil who she'd become obsessed with over the course of the last week and a half. So much had happened since that first encounter, and the completion of the painting. Oh, she remembered the stalking alright. It had been the evil in the pure boy she'd wanted to capture this time, and she'd been ever so close.

Where am I? Why am I not dead?

Why has he kept me here? Overcome by fear, she felt her skin crawl suddenly, shivers running down her spine. She felt a sense of dread, of vulnerability. The fear refused to go away, eating away at her resolve. Images swam in her mind; she knew what happened to those girls that vampires abduct in those movies. _He's a vampire. I'm not. I…have to get out of here._

She put on the dress, tossing her blouse and other ripped garments aside. They'd been a present from Yugi, his parting gift before he'd left so abruptly. Egypt, that had been the excuse. To seek some legendary duellist. Whoever she was, Anzu hoped that she'd take Yugi's deck and shove it where.

Pushing open the door, she walked down a long, red carpeted corridor that looked exactly like the one had been in her dream. Rows upon rows of paintings gazed down at her, and as she climbed down a flight of steps she stopped. On a cabinet, she caught her reflection in the strange eye of the golden ring again.

_Sennen_, a voice hissed. She spun around but there was nobody there, only the eye of the ring watching her. The spikes hung limply, and the thing was alive as a skeleton could ever be. There was a key nearby; she picked it up on impulse and put it in her pocket.

Hurrying away she hastened to explore the mansion. Door upon door opened into luxurious decadence, the lavish magnificence that only a vampire could love. Oaken tables, intricate chairs and extravagant statues. Rugs, stuffed animals, trinkets and ornaments, even a massive kitchen, yet not one sign of a living breathing creature.

Eventually she came to what must be the front door, so grand and splendid it had to be. She tried the door, but found it locked. What was the meaning of this? In a fit of panic, she ran to the windows, yanking their handles but they wouldn't shift. Every room now she tried, panic rising by the second, movements more frantic.

It was no use.

"No, no!" She cried, collapsing.

She was a prisoner of the vampire.

xXx

Half an hour and a coffee later, Anzu felt calmer. Her hands hugged the warm cup, anchoring herself to security and reality. This always worked when she was stressed. Finishing the drink, she proceeded to explore the mansion again in greater detail, in the hope she might find something she missed the first time.

She did. Her patience was rewarded when she was in one of the upper bedrooms, and noticed how one part of the wall didn't quite match. She would've missed it if she'd been in a rush, but after watching countless horror movies in her time she had an idea of what to look for.

Anzu pushed on the right pressure points, and the wall swung open, revealing uneven flagstones that descended in a spiral. Flame torches hung on the walls at regular intervals, lighting the way.

"I don't _believe_ this." She shook her head, and continued downwards into the unknown.

xXx

The basement was rough, carved straight from the stone. It was much colder here; Anzu really wasn't surprised. She'd taken one of the flame torches on her way down, and was rather disappointed to find the place empty.

_Don't give up now when you're so close_, a voice whispered, or was it in her mind?

"Who's there?" She whirled around, quaver in her note. It must've been a trick of the mind, like that other time when she'd gazed into the golden ring.

_Sennen_.

Scanning the chamber with an artist's eagle eye she spotted the secret door soon enough. This one needed a key. She reached into her pocket and brought out the key that had been lying next to the golden ring, almost laughing hysterically.

"No way." She smiled; this was so stereotypical.

Placing it in the lock, it turned without any resistance at all.

She let out a ragged breath, before pushing open the stone door.

As her eyes got used to the darkness, she made out a strange bulky object lying right in the centre of the tiny room.

"No," she breathed in disbelief. It was a coffin. An ornately carved one at that too. And inside, lying against the soft silk was the vampire boy. The pure one, eyes closed in an unnatural slumber. He looked so peaceful, so unearthly, with his hands folded over his chest just like one of the deceased. A single ruby red rose lay beneath where his hands crossed, petals still dewed.

Something tapped her shoulder. "I wouldn't try to scream if I were you, you might wake me up and that wouldn't be good for my body nor my soul, after everything I've just been through."

It was the evil one. Too shocked to scream, she backed away. "B-but you're…" she gestured helplessly at the stiff cold body in the coffin.

"In there? Yes, well, it gets so boring you know, just lying down and acting dead."

She glanced at Ryou.

"He'll be out for another day at least, maybe another if I keep moving around."

The spirit came closer, grinning evilly. "By the way, I'm Bakura. I don't believe I introduced myself that night, how rude."

"I want to go home."

"You want to go home when you've only just got here? Why?"

"Because you're dangerous," Anzu said, tightlipped. No matter how much the vampire fascinated her, she couldn't stay any longer.

"Dangerous? How, when I can't even touch you?"

It was true, his was a ghostly touch upon her shoulder. "B-but-"

"Yes, monster, demon, fiend, I may be, but whilst I'm in this spiritual state, what harm can I be?"

"W-what did you do to me?" Anzu blurted, face white as a sheet. "My arm, I should've bled to death. What did you do?"

"Oh, nothing that I haven't already done," Bakura said mysteriously, eyes laughing.

xXx

Bakura had unlocked the doors for Anzu with some mysterious power, and had let her go out for a walk in the grounds. The place was beautiful in a gothic way, but kind of depressing for Anzu seeing as how she wanted to escape so much.

The vampire had saved her, had given her some of his precious blood but why?

It was late afternoon; she'd been walking down the many paths, gazing at the scenery, memorizing the quickest escape route. Bakura was walking beside her, stealing glances at her whenever she wasn't watching. She knew his spirit body was getting tired.

Suddenly without warning, she broke away, running as hard as she could. The gates were in sight; she'd left her art material behind but no matter, she had plenty more at home. Past the strange oozing pools, the gnarled twisted trees. There! She shook the gates frantically, but they were locked and she couldn't get a grip on them to climb over.

"Don't exert yourself too much, my sweet. You almost died last night remember?"

There he was, behind her. Hair as pure as snow, eyes as cunning as a demon's. In a fit of despair, she sank down against the gates.

"Let's go back inside, you don't know how much the light has been hurting me since we came out." It was true, even though he was in spirit form Anzu saw the burns and redness on his pale, pale skin, felt the spirit's pain.

Feeling sorry for him, she obliged, allowing him to lead the way back inside.

"Draw the curtains for me, I need the dark."

Anzu sighed. Not even one day, and she was already obeying his orders.

xXx

Evening. The spirit had come and gone as he pleased, each time leaving her even more confused than ever. Plus, it seemed he was gaining solaridity too as the evening drew on, his spirit body becoming almost as real as his other was. His poor body, she thought as she imagined how much more time it would need to recover.

The fire crackled; she leaned back in the armchair.

"Do you think me evil?" Bakura taunted, breaking her thoughts. Suddenly on impulse, he turned around and was at the door. "Come up to the roof."

"But-" Anzu began but he was gone again in a whisper of satin.

xXx

The rooftop was vast and flat. Bakura was sat at a black grand piano, playing the milky keys softly as she climbed up. Night had reared her dark splendour, and already the stars hung in the sky. She had a full view of the gardens from where she stood, the plants illuminated eerily by the light of the moon. His dark silhouette with the piano coupled brilliantly against the sky, and would've made the perfect picture had she her art materials.

"How romantic."

The music stopped.

Bakura walked over, silencing her with a finger to her lips. "Shh, let's dance."

An eerie melody began to play, so haunting yet beautiful. There was nobody there; the ivory keys seemed to be playing of their own accord.

"What kind of magic is this?" Anzu breathed.

"Shh mortal, just enjoy the dance." An order.

At any other time Anzu would've given the speaker a piece of her mind but then again, this speaker was a vampire, and a dangerous one at that.

He took her into his arms, as solid as they were, and began the steps to a soft, lilting waltz that was eerie yet beautiful in it's own right. The stars twinkled in the sky, as the two danced on the rooftop.

"Tell me about yourself," Anzu said, gazing at the moon.

"Why should I?" Bakura smirked, still lilting. His shirt was unbuttoned at the collar, she got a good view then of a smooth toned body. He smirked again at her blush, pulling her closer, knowing how embarrassed she felt.

"Because you haven't had anyone this close to you in a while now have you?"

All smiles ceased, the music stopped. Bakura walked to the rooftop and stared at the moon.

"The moon has always been here, watching us creatures of the night, protecting us from harm, thoughshe can't always be here for us. Her beautiful radiance that pales our skin, she is the essence of our existence. I had a girl like her before, once. Others too, in the past."

Anzu came to stand by his side. His eyes took on a more thoughtful tone.

"They all went insane in the end; the burden of being a creature of the night too much for their demented souls. Either they were destroyed before this insanity, or they committed suicide on the cliff tops of the oceans, going up in flames and letting their ashes be scattered by the wind. And the mortals? Well, you can imagine."

Bakura leaned closer, whispering in Anzu's ear. "What you know, no one else does, so if these secrets are ever repeated then I will know who to kill, hmm?"

His cold breath tickled, and she found her heart beating faster. "Not even Ryou knows?"

"I was made against my will a long, long time ago, when humans worshipped the dead, dressing them in rituals and secrets." Bakura began, ignoring her. "I lived for two thousand years, slowly drowning in my own despair until all my humanity had been lost, until all that remained was a cold, dark core, rather like those neutron stars your astronomers so like to gaze upon. I killed for survival, then for pleasure, each time without a conscience at all. So, two thousand years I spent wandering, feeding, bringing death upon all those I met until my body was destroyed in a collision of events which I may tell you about some other time. Yet my spirit lived on, earthbound, confined to this world until the day I fulfil a vow made, oh so long ago. And so I have been wandering since, inhabiting bodies of those turned, speaking with my hosts when necessary. Until I find the other half of my soul, until my vow has been fulfilled…"

He trailed off, head down, eyes in shadow.

"Don't tell Ryou this," he murmured, looking Anzu square in the eye. "He thinks me the absolute abomination, the complete embodiment of evil, and that's the only thing that keeps him going, keeps him sane in this world, for didn't you know he died in a car crash?"

"What!"

"No, not died in the literal sense. They won't let him remember, for to remember would be the end for him. His is a delicate soul, and I must keep him from sinking into the very same pit of despair I once sunk into if I have a hope of surviving this era, for once I latch onto a soul, it is very hard for me to let go. Only the greatest jolt can set me free and to be free is to be in hell. Imagine the pain, the suffering, of wandering as a ghost, not knowing who you are! You slip into realms of consciousness then fade out again, aware that time trickles, yet it has no meaning for you. This madness that lasts for an eternity! And when there is a turning nearby, you're on fire, for you only have a few brief seconds to attach yourself to the fledging soul before it's too late, and then your memories return, slowly, one by one. It is good they haven't let him remember, or this existence would be utter hell."

"Who is 'they'?" Anzu asked, aware of her incorrect grammar.

Bakura's face clouded; a rare sight. "I-I am not sure, I only know what Ryou knows."

Anzu watched him in silence, her hair caressed gently by the calming breeze. A sweet scent tumbled from the night air, spilling into her senses and the melodic chords from the grand piano started up again.

"Come, let's dance."

Bakura took her hand and kissed it softly, before playing the perfect gentleman. Though in spirit body, his touch felt as real as ever, and as Anzu lost herself in the never-ending dance, she felt a new compassion for her moonlit companion, a new sorrow for his pain, the burden of his evil he must bear upon the shoulders of time.

* * *

Apologies for any OOCness! 


	11. Betrayal from the Heart

My longest chapter yet! Thanks for all your reviews so far! This chapter will be a bit weird, kind of surreal, a lot of seducing...

26/11/05

* * *

Chapter XI: Betrayal from the Heart

Bakura felt it was a bit too soon to be revealing his soul to the Anzu woman, so he suppressed her memories of that night. All she would remember the next day would be the never-ending waltz as they whirled and whirled to the heart of the music, lost in ecstasy on that moonlit rooftop.

"Why won't you let me out?" Anzu cried again and again, beating her tiny fists against the door.

She had on another elegant ball gown, this time as snow white as Bakura's hair. Her hair shimmered as it always did, only she looked frailer, more fragile. Like a bird in a cage that desires to be free.

Fed up, Ryou shook his head sleepily and made his way to the entrance, ignoring the pounding in his head every time he stood up. Shadows under his eyes, he still hadn't recovered from the fight.

"You can't," he said. "That Seto Kaiba is searching for us, he knows that you're associated with me."

"So?" There was a ring of impatience to her voice.

"Did you see how easily he commanded the magic?"

The pleading had no effect on her. She stared on in stony silence.

"You saw how ruthless he is, do you really think he'll just let you go if he finds you?"

"He can't hurt me; he was the one that bought my painting."

How naïve, Ryou thought sadly. "Then he knows where you live and who you are." Walking away, he said, "it's best for both of us if you just stay here until we can sort something out."

Why was he being so different today? Anzu crumpled onto the ground. Last night, last night he'd been… why couldn't she remember? Oh, she remembered the moonlit roof all right, and the dancing, but anything he'd said to her had faded to a blur, like a mist that she just couldn't quite reach.

Ryou felt so sorry for the Anzu girl, but he couldn't do anything about it. He needed to think, go over the events from that night. Plus, his body still hadn't fully recovered; the lacerations were faint scars now, but still there. No doubt they'd disappear soon, though.

And there were still the fundamental questions he needed answering. Who was he? He had to have been someone; he couldn't have been _nobody_.

Bakura had convinced him that they were the same person; streams of consciousness from the same soul, but sometimes Ryou found himself wondering.

xXx

It was the second evening since the attack, and Bakura had arisen in Ryou's mind. Even though he wasn't in spirit form, he still made his presence felt. He'd read Anzu's agony from Ryou's mind, felt her despair like a bird in a cage and he wasn't too happy about that.

"Why, may I ask, are you being so stubborn to the girl?"

"Because she isn't safe, Bakura!" Ryou said, exasperated. He didn't need to get it from both sides; Anzu's incessant moaning had been enough. "You know as well as I do that she is safer inside."

"What makes you think that you know best, eh?" Bakura snarled, going on the defensive.

"I beg your pardon? Wasn't I the one that saved our sorry hides?"

Bakura turned away, muttering mutinously.

"Do you want her to be captured, to be used against us? You saw the Duellist, you know he is a slayer."

"It isn't just glass that can be broken, human vampire. I'm sure you'll find that hearts are a lot less messy."

Ryou knew he was referring to Serenity.

"Is that a threat?"

Bakura smiled evilly, drawing himself up to his full height.

"We shall see." In an instant he was right by Ryou's side and had him in a headlock, squeezing him. "Let me have your body tonight!"

"Who…are…you?" Ryou gasped, sweating. Bakura's grip was so strong, and icy, it was draining away his energy. Ryou elbowed his counterpart, but Bakura retaliated by squeezing his throat.

_Let me take over!_ Let your darker half…

"Stop it!"

"If you knew who I really was, I don't think you could bear to live anymore," Bakura said sadly, finally releasing him. This change of heart was too much for Ryou.

"Just get out!" Ryou screamed, doubled over as he fought for air.

xXx

"Bloody human vampire, who does he think he is? Doesn't he know that the Great Vampire Bakura is far superior to that pathetic fledgling?" Bakura muttered angrily, flying around in circles.

That human vampire Ryou really got under his proverbial skin. He was always trying to stay safe, avoid danger…Bakura would've done things a lot differently, had he been in charge. He'd been so bored so far in this life, nothing compared to the true hearts of evil, yes, soppy romantics he could cope with, pathetic fledgings maybe…but making that Anzu woman unhappy had been the last straw. How dare he?

Spying Serenity's house, Bakura flew down and landed by her windowsill. Tapping it gently, he watched her smooth expression change as her mind was disturbed from sleep. My, my, would _this_ be fun…

xXx

Serenity opened her eyes, groaning sleepily. She hadn't heard from Duke since he came round two nights ago. Could this be him?

Another tap at the window. Climbing out of her bed, she went to pull the curtains aside, feet padding ever so delicately across the wooden floor. She would tell Duke she'd missed him, and maybe tell him what the Doctor had told her, that she was getting better and that her depression would be going away for good. She felt happy, and her eyes sparkled as they had that night when he'd come round to comfort her. But she would have to tell him to call in advance in the future and to come round earlier.

So it was such a shock she received when she found the figure at the window wasn't Duke, but some white-haired stranger, perched on her windowsill. Backing away in fear on his insane grin, she stammered- "w-what…"

"Open the window, my dear," he commanded lustily, eyes glinting.

Oh no…not again…she began to hyperventilate as past memories surfaced. He had the same look in his eyes, she was sure he was back, he was coming for her, not again…she thought she'd escaped from the hurt, no, not again…

Serenity opened her mouth to scream but at that second Bakura locked his steely gaze upon her eyes.

"Don't worry, my dear, sleep."

"I-" She couldn't pull out of his stare. Stumbling backwards, she suddenly felt the energy drain from her body. How good it would be to just lie back, forget about all her troubles, nightmares that weren't even real- no, _nothing_ could harm her if she just obeyed the white-haired stranger. He told her that she was safe now, _he_ wasn't coming back. She could trust him. Slowly, her eyelids drooped, as the resistance in her disappeared, and she yielded, her honeyed hair fell across her face as her head slumped forwards.

Bakura crowed in triumph. She was his!

"Now, an instruction will be relayed, and I want you to obey, do you understand?"

A soft sigh escaped her lips; Bakura took this as a yes. How easily her will had been broken, ever so easily like the stem of a daisy.

"Open the window, and stand back."

Serenity moved as if in a trance, so graceful and compliant. She was putty in his hands!

The window was fully open; shutters flung back into her room as the curtains swelled with the cool night breeze. She looked like a ghost in her white night dress, as it billowed in the wind with her silky strawberry hair. Her face was so serene, and as she hovered, eyes closed in a trance-like state she slowly stepped forwards towards Bakura's beckoning finger. She was right up against the window; head poised in mid air, eyes still closed.

"Now let me in, my sweet," Bakura chuckled throatily, tickling her bare neck.

Her eyelids fluttered, hypnotised and she answered in a monotone, "you may come in."

Jumping off his haunches, Bakura landed in the room and took the swooning girl in his arms. She had been so easy to manipulate. And my, how pretty she really was, but in his eyes, nothing compared to the feisty soul he'd sensed in Anzu. She reminded him of someone he'd once known, from ever so long ago…

Bakura took Serenity's hand and led her around the room like a trainer might to a pony, murmuring soothing words to her. She tried to nuzzle him, but he always danced just out of her reach. Finally he led her to the full-length wardrobe mirror.

"Open your eyes."

She opened them, and stared vacantly ahead, bright eyes dulled. Her posture was perfect, she was like the obedient child waiting to be told what to do.

"Do you see yourself, see how pretty you are?" Bakura crooned to her, letting the words sing. "My, what an angel, with a face as delicate as yours. It would be a shame to spoil such beauty, wouldn't it?"

She nodded vacantly, her long straight hair falling across her china face. Bakura reached up and brushed her locks aside like you would to a doll.

"Now look in the mirror, and tell me what you see."

And with that, he leant forward, and bit into her neck.

xXx

Ryou had broken into the local library under the cover of darkness. He needed someplace away from Anzu's incessant pleading to think, and the public library had seemed the best option. Now, walking through the dark shelves upon shelves, he had time to himself.

Who was Bakura? The demon vampire had demonstrated that he was capable of far greater violence, Ryou was sure Bakura would've strangled him had he the chance. So what was it that had stopped him?

"My name is Ryou. I am the Vampire Bakura. Ryou is for Bakura and Bakura is for death."

That was the mantra he'd repeated that first night when he'd awoken. But now, he wasn't so sure. It was true that he could see through Bakura's eyes and feel his emotions, but whenever he tried to read Bakura's thoughts his mind closed like a clam. If they were the same person, souls split then shouldn't he have full access to Bakura's thoughts?

_Not if he isn't you_…

Dusty tomes lined the bookshelves; old volumes that spent their existence collecting dust. Slits of orange light fell across the floor from the windows. He passed another shelf, and came to a place that looked more recently used.

It was the newspaper library. Here, thousands upon thousands of daily reports lay filed and ordered for public use. Newspapers in every imaginable language; stories vivid, great and small.

Having nothing to do, Ryou picked up a few and began to read. He didn't need to read far until he came across something of interest. It was dated three weeks ago; the same time when he'd come to.

Craning forward, pupils dilating against the dim light, he began to read:

_**Mystery Youth Disappears Under Cloak of Darkness**_

_The doctors of Domino Hospital have been horrified to discover that one of their patients has gone missing last night. The said patient, name unknown, was last noted hooked up on life support, whilst in a coma._

"_We don't know anything about the boy, except that he had been involved in a car crash. He is a complete mystery to us all and we were hoping that somebody would come forward to tell us more about him. He can't have walked out by himself, so we can only fear an abduction."_

_The car crash incident had been reported a few weeks ago, but that too has remained a mystery. All we know is that the boy used to attend Domino High, though why his old classmates are not aware of his disappearance is something else altogether._

"_All we know is that he is called Ryou Bakura, and that he was an exchange student from England. He looked like the shy but popular with girls type, so why no one seems to know him now, well, we're completely baffled by that."_

The report went on to talk about the hospital's worry over security, but by then Ryou had stopped reading and was in a world of his own. Had that been his life story, there in print?

There was a fuzzy photograph of a figure lying in a hospital bed; he couldn't really make out the details of the person, but he was sure he'd seen himself enough times to recognize himself in the picture. The hair, think locks tousled; the stance of the figure as he lay in his coma…it had to have been him…

Ryou felt hollow. Once again, it was as if time had slowed down to a trickle and he saw himself isolated, standing alone in blackness. A spotlight trained on him, picking out his isolation, his solitude. Somewhere molten ice flowed like treacle into his stomach. He was frozen, numb.

The last few weeks of searching, and he'd stumbled across this. The realisation hadn't hit him yet; that he might've had a past, an actual life. And that life might've been led in England… he was still contemplating the mystery of why no one here seemed to remember him when he felt it, deep in his soul.

An exhalation of pure, sweet satisfaction. And a girl, nearby. Someone he knew, had studied, had obsessed over for the past few weeks.

"Bakura," Ryou breathed.

The rage was building up again, a whirlwind of emotions against a raging backdrop of despair. The wind howled; tornado picked up a beating heart and flung it into his face. He stared at the glistening veins as they leaked blood, the ice blue and the wild red whirling and whirling together until he was lost, couldn't take it anymore, swept away on a tide that he had never wanted to be carried on, it was too much…

"Bakura!" He yelled, shattering the icy air.

xXx

"I see…a tall, handsome stranger with pure white hair and…deep brown eyes," she murmured thickly. Her hair fell across her face, as Bakura nuzzled her throat again, licking his lips.

Her blood was as sweet as it had been the first time round, only this time it didn't pulse with as much resistance as it had the first time. Docile blood. That spoiled the taste slightly, which is what he hated about manipulation. Blood of the suicidal, the fragile, the innocent.

He brushed her hair aside and allowed her to snuggle into his neck. This she did instinctively, still in her trance-like state. How good it would be to turn her now…but for that Bakura needed to be in body form. Oh well, this was good enough.

He drew her close to him, turning her ever so pale face towards the mirror again. Her eyes registered no change, only reflecting the pure moonlight.

"What do you see again?" Bakura whispered in her ear, coaxing her.

Under a spell, she began again. "I see a tall handsome stranger…and he will protect me and I love him. He has pure white hair, intense brown eyes…and his name is Bakura."

"Good," Bakura crooned. Oh, sweet revenge.

He led Serenity to the open window, motioned for her to climb up, until she was stood on the window ledge. Her frail body was buffeted back and forth by the icy wind, yet she remained standing straight, hypnotised, obedient.

"Now jump," Bakura whispered into her ear.

Her face remained relaxed as her knees bent.

"No-!" Ryou yelled, as he crashed into the room, taking Serenity down with him. Out of breath, he pulled Serenity away from the grinning Bakura and wailed, "what have you done to her?"

Bakura merely glanced coolly in his direction. "Only what you'd have done if you weren't so-"

"Serenity!" Ryou cried. Her face was still vacant, still beautiful with innocent bliss. Shaking her, he realised that Bakura hadn't hurt her, which eased his pain a little. He held her close, feeling her dull breathing against his heart.

In the room next door, a light flickered on.

"S-Serenity?" The confused yet concerned voice of her brother called.

"Undo whatever it is you've done to her then we get out of here!" Ryou hissed angrily to Bakura.

Bakura flicked his gaze coolly from Ryou to Serenity. Yielding, he went over to Serenity, and whispered in her ear. She glided over to her bed, before sliding in, face still calm, serene. Bakura clicked his fingers and she relaxed, eyes closed, returned to normal.

"Selfish enough to make you wait for me," Bakura said loftily.

"Lazy enough to sleep all day," Ryou retorted, as he rose to the windowsill. "The root of all evil has been running my life, and will run it no longer."

And with that, he fell from the windowsill, like how Serenity was about to, a fragile figure poised on the edge of the sky, only to swoop back into the night.

xXx

"I've done enough," Ryou murmured. "I've exposed myself too much, and I've stayed here for far too long." _I'm supposed to be finding my memory; when did I lose sight of my original goal?_

Anzu was silent, head bowed.

"I'm leaving for England," Ryou said. "It turns out I used to live there."

"You can't!" Anzu gasped. "I love you, don't you know?"

"Tell that to Bakura," Ryou mumbled.

"But…aren't you the same person?"

"I thought we were too," he replied dully. The pain still held him in shock; the betrayal. Bakura had used him, lied to him.

Numb, he allowed himself to be swept away in his tide of thoughts. They weren't the same person. In fact, Ryou didn't even know anything about the Great Vampire Bakura. They were two completely separate personalities, with completely different goals. Why hadn't he seen that before?

_You took my heart  
__Threw it away  
__Numb, I  
__Don't know what to say_

Suddenly it all came back to Anzu, that moonlit night, everything Bakura had said to her, confided to her in confidence. Whatever spell he'd laid on her had been broken. Everything, all the pieces of his life story, never before told to everyone else was now crystal clear…and the waltzing.

But she couldn't think of them with any joy anymore, for when she found out about that other Serenity woman, this all faded into the back of her mind. All the infatuation she'd felt was overwhelmed now by a sense of betrayal. She'd been here before, had the shocking truth hit her like a tonne of bricks. This had been just the same with her first love, Yugi.

Anzu was shaking him; tears in her angel eyes. "You can't do this to me, not after everything you put me through!"

"I-" Ryou began, but it was true. He knew exactly how it felt to be betrayed, and knew then what it would be to have revenge on that demon spirit. "Fine, I'll let you see him, then, if that's what you really want."

Bakura opened his eyes, drowsy.

"What!" He frowned. Reeling back in pain, it took him a second to register the brightness of the day.

_All I want is to  
__see you suffer  
__For the pain you caused  
__to the ones I love_

"You monster!" Anzu screamed, pounding him. Though the blows completely unaffected him, he still flinched, the raw anger in her voice striking him time and time again as the rays of the sun scorched his skin red.

Ryou merely watched on, silent, and when Anzu had exhausted herself, quietly replaced Bakura, and walked her to her room, whilst rubbing his new bruises.

* * *

OK, even I know that was weird... 


	12. Legendary Tale: Part I

I had originally written a much longer chapter than this, but decided to split it up into two parts to make reading easier. I'm stressing right now, as the teacher is currently reading out dates for my GCSE ICT exams- ack!

30/11/05 

* * *

Chapter XII: Legendary Tale- Part I

"_You killed me," Duke said in disbelief. Ryou sat opposite the ghost of Duke and was apparently having a normal conversation with him. They were in the library of Ryou's mansion, the dark oaken panelling of the walls and the low crystal chandeliers adding very nicely to the surreal gothic atmosphere. _

"_I know," he replied, unfazed._

_The ghost of Duke looked exactly the same as he had done in real life, right down to the very last detail. The intense green eyes, the spiked up dark hair and the dice, dangling from one ear. His moody countenance, the scowl that was every way reminiscent of the old living breathing Duke. After all, in death spirits tend to hold onto their human forms in self-reassurance more than anything else._

"_Why?" He demanded, half rising, knuckles white against the table._

_Ryou had been dreading this question more than any other. Gazing off into space, he noted how he could see through Duke, see the bookcases on the other side. Ryou chose not to answer, because he couldn't._

"_Are you sorry?" His fierce eyes were boring into Ryou's, forcing him to acknowledge his gaze._

"_I…" Ryou bowed his head. "I am."_

_What did he feel then? Remorse, regret? This killing he'd committed in a moment of pure frenzied passion, he couldn't even justify why._

"_Here, read this book. It will tell you all you need to know and more…" Duke said, eyes roaming Ryou's face hungrily. With that, he thrust the book into Ryou's hands, and got up, motioning for Ryou to follow him._

_Duke led him to one of the shelves, and pointed to the spine of one of the books._

"_There it is; you have it in your hand now, and on your bookshelf. There is a lot more I can tell you, especially about life after death," he began, but he stopped. _

_Looking around warily, for the first time he appeared frightened._

"_Look after Serenity for me," he pleaded, intense eyes burning._

"_I…will," Ryou said, but Duke wasn't listening anymore._

_Gazing over his shoulder, he cowered, whimpering. Ryou struggled to see the unseen force, but couldn't. Whatever it was, Duke screamed at that instant. His eyes met Ryou's in one last desperate plea, before a blade swung through the air, knife sharp tip whistling as it sliced the very atoms apart itself._

_Ryou closed his eyes; next thing he knew Duke was gone._

xXx

Ryou was so angry with Bakura but knew that there was no point in expressing it. Bakura was as emotionless as a block of ice, and had since retreated into his usual brooding self, flinging scathing comments at him every now and then.

When they dined with Anzu they dined in silence, and apart from that, Ryou saw hardly anything of the ice queen he'd imprisoned in his mansion. He had made it crystal clear that he would be departing for England in less than a week, and he hadn't heard anything more from Seto Kaiba, though he knew through the eyes of his victims that the Duellist had been searching the whole city for him. Every place he went, he had to be careful, everywhere he fed, he felt signs of Kaiba's presence, though it seemed that with all his vast abilities, Seto Kaiba still hadn't made that much progress. Then again, Domino City was a very big place. It was only a matter of time before he was staked out by the aloof Duellist.

Seto Kaiba was a mystery unto himself. Ryou had no idea what his motives were for wanting to kill him, and he didn't plan on staying long enough to find out.

The sixth day before he was due to leave, Anzu didn't turn up for dinner. She'd done so all the previous days, so he figured something must be wrong. Walking down to her room, he sensed something was amiss. The place was too quiet. He couldn't feel any of her resentment in the air, nor the scritch-scratch of her drawings.

It was way too quiet.

He knocked and opened the door, surprised it wasn't locked.

The first thing he registered was that the curtains had been drawn. Scattered across the ground were pages upon pages of drawings, all of himself and Bakura, and of another boy with tri-coloured hair.

A shiver down his spine. He approached the four-poster bed in dread. There, lying on the silken sheets was Anzu, her beautiful face calm. Her eyes were closed, as if she was in deep slumber, and her pillow was moist from where the tears had fallen.

He walked over in quiet anguish, and sat by her, stroking her hair, until he noticed her wrists. They were still bleeding freely. Burying his face in his hands, he cleared all feelings of pain from his system and set immediately into work.

He'd been scared that maybe it was too late, that maybe the only way to save her now was to transform her, but he didn't know how and was too frightened to call on Bakura. But luckily, she hadn't lost too much blood.

"Arghhhh!" Bakura yelled as he stumbled into the room, the shock of it all awakening him from the pits of Ryou's mind.

In a frenzy, he threw Ryou out of his body and jumped in. Grabbing her wrists, he immediately licked the blood and opened his own wrists, letting his own heal her self-inflicted wounds.

"Anzu!"

xXx

"You wanted me to do this!"

She stared at Bakura. "I know everything about that night. Why did you do it?" She spoke calmly, too calmly. Her face was still deathly pale, drawn and silent. Her eyes had lost that spark, and Bakura could sense a whole wave of once suppressed emotion now battering her, shaking her to the core, to her very foundation.

"You mean when we were up on the rooftop?"

"Yes, but that's not what I meant. Why did you entrap Serenity? Was it for revenge? Do you like playing with the hearts of people? Do you enjoy the pain it brings?"

"I-"

Each word was a dagger to Bakura's ice-cold heart.

"I have to go."

He stood up and left, pain etched across his face.

"But that still doesn't change how you feel about me, that I know! Answer me, coward!" Anzu yelled to the closing door, each word spiked with malice.

xXx

"I am leaving for England, and I want you out."

Ryou confronted the demon spirit, forcing him down.

"How can you get rid of me when I am you, human vampire?"

"You're wrong in that, demon. Your game is up. I had a very interesting discussion with somebody…" he didn't want to say Duke's name. "…and it has made me realise that I know nothing about you, nothing. You say we are the same person? I think not, you malevolent leech. Now get out of my body and get away from me!"

Ryou's outburst left him breathing heavily.

Bakura watched him, waiting.

"Not only have you manipulated me and other innocent people, you've invaded my very cells, polluting my veins with your evil. I know I had a life before here, and I know that you weren't in it!"

"…"

"So why did you keep lying to me? Is it because you need me, you need a body to survive?"

Ryou had hit the nail.

"That's it, that's all you are, you're nothing without me," he spat.

Bakura blazed crimson fury. "How dare you say that to me!"

They faced each other, both eyes narrowed.

"With me, you could have power beyond your wildest dreams. You could soar through the heavens, touch the stars! You could read minds, extract any information you want. Think how much you could gain from this power! The ability to heal at will, be immortal, live on forever! And the ecstasy, the sweet nectar of the gods- the blood! Why else do you think people made so many sacrifices to the gods in history? Sweet elixir of life, the warm breathtaking liquor, how it feels to have the universe flowing through your veins! But _ah_," he held up a hand. "No, you're willing to throw it all away, are you? Just forget all about it, eh? The thrill of flying, knowing that you're truly free, this is power that men can only dream of having. And yet you don't want it, am I right?"

Ryou had been listening, rapt. But his face clouded with doubt again as his thoughts cleared.

"Of course not, not if it means putting up with your lying, manipulative ways!"

"Sorry, but I come with the package."

Ryou had his head in his hands. Inside, he knew that he should get rid of Bakura right now. That demon was trouble, and potentially very dangerous. It seemed that Bakura himself had lost many memories, and that they too were slowly being returned to him. And with each passing memory he grew stronger and more dangerous as he remembered who he had been, who he _was_. The Great Vampire Bakura had to have been great for some reason?

But the power…the sheer power! Flying had never felt so vivid to him before, it was as if all his existence so far he'd been wading through mud in bleak fog, and the gift of flying had set him free. Oh, how blessed he'd been! He couldn't give that up…

Bakura turned away, refusing to look at Ryou.

"You remind me of myself, before I was turned. That is why I can't stand you, you bring back so many memories of my youth."

"Who are you?" Ryou demanded, pleading. "And why were…are you known as the Great Vampire Bakura?"

Bakura muttered to himself, refusing to reply.

"Dammit, why won't you tell me!"

In frustration, Ryou slammed his fist down, before he remembered something. _The book_. Duke had said…_ It will tell you all you need to know and more_… With almost a maniac intensity, Ryou dashed down the bookshelves, a white blur against the dim light until he came to the right shelf. Breathless, he reached up with trembling fingers.

_Fifth shelf, eleventh from the left…_

A dusty leather-bound tome fell into his outstretched hands. Shaking, he brought the book back to the table where Bakura still sat waiting, eyes clouded in thought.

He dropped it onto the table, causing Bakura to snap out of his reverie.

_In the beginning there was no darkness, only an absence of light. The world lived in harmony with nature, and that was how it was meant to be, if not for one cataclysmic catastrophe, which upset the balance of the world forever and set in motion a chain of events in which horror upon horror were released._

_These demonic beings are said to have originated from other dimensions, travelling to our world through rips in the very fabric of space and time. Other people say that they are the spirits of the deceased, who long once again for the flesh that we possess, and will do whatever harm they can to the living in revenge for their own deaths._

_Either way, no matter what their motives are, many of them crave power and world domination, seeking to rule the world and everything that lives on it._

_One of the darkest branches of demonology today is Vampirism, as they are one of the most dreaded evils ever to walk this earth. Encased in flesh, these beings are almost animated from the dead, except their souls never died. They walk in darkness, immortal, silent but deadly. They thrive on the blood of the living, possessing two sharp fangs that punctuate the flesh. They can almost pass for human, being mortal once, they know what it is to be alive, and it is this craving that drives many of them to darker paths to glory._

_The history of the vampire is shrouded in mystery; most people agree that they originated in the sandy banks of Egypt, though there is a lot of debate over Eastern Europe too. Nevertheless, the Egyptian legend goes…_

_Many millennia ago, deep in the heart of the Egyptian desert there lay a town, the name unknown. The pyramid hadn't been invented yet; but the religion of Egypt was blooming, as was its empire. Now, picture this: a sprawling town of white washed walls, golden sands and buzzing flies. Camel dung steaming in the roads, the ripe pungent smell of rotting fruit at the market, and stacks upon stacks of pottery. The clamour of linen clothed people, all shouting and arguing, all sporting black hair and deep tans. It was from a town like this that the Queen Ishizu originated from._

_Bold and beautiful, her intense blue eyes emanated authority. Her parents knew she was destined for greatness, for wasn't that what the priest had prophesized? Her striking countenance sent people reeling; by the age of twelve she already held herself high and aloof, distancing herself from her townspeople. Though it was only men who learnt to read, Ishizu Ishtar found herself fascinated by the writings, developing an obsession with the spells and the Book of the Dead from such an early age._

_Everyday, she could be found, slender frame hunched over a papyrus, sleek black hair shielding her face as she read with exponential enthusiasm. And after she finished, she would toss the papyrus away and always ask for more. Her blooming curiosity, this insatiable hunger of hers, would be her downfall._

_Now she had a brother too, a Marik Ishtar. Where her hair was as dark as the night, his was as pure as the walls of the palace, which he would soon set foot in, in the near future. This boy too was destined for greatness, for he would be the one to command the Egyptian army and lead them to victory against foreign adversaries. Everyday, he trained hard, relentlessly, and it wasn't long before he was spotted by the royal palace. They took him in, and trained him, and he became a part of the army, rising to the top very quickly._

_Don't think Ishizu had been forgotten; she too was invited to the palace, to serve as a maid to the Pharaoh of the time. She did her job well, and in exchange, received the full and steady love of the young Pharaoh. They were married, and she became Queen of all of Egypt._

_But don't forget her insatiable personality; this wasn't enough. She soon sent out her brother to conquer foreign lands and bring back exotic treasures, which he did with ease. And whilst she waited, she sat in the palace library, taking in every single papyrus, memorising every single spell. It was she who first designed the pyramid, she who calculated the angles to the monument to the stars._

_Her husband, the Pharaoh, also had duties tied to the army, and was constantly away for weeks on end. Growing bored, Ishizu began to have affairs, playing the dangerous seductive woman, until her husband returned, whereupon she would revert back to her former self, and have her lovers killed in case they dared to speak out._

_Everything was going so well, until one day, when disaster struck. Traitors from the inside, sinuous twisted beings who desired power themselves, managed to poison the Pharaoh. Ishizu, being heavily pregnant by one of her lovers, was very easy to corner, and struck down with a blade. The sharp metal bit into her flesh, tearing a hole into her body. Thinking they had killed her, the men left her in a pool of her own blood. But she did not die. _

_Her will was stronger than that._

_Bleeding resolutely, she staggered to the temple, to a friend she trusted, the priest, and pleaded for help._

"_My poor unborn child!" She gasped, coughing up blood. Her once clear blue eyes were now cloudy, each step as painful as the hole in which the traitors had rendered. Clutching her stomach, she felt the bulge, felt her heir. She didn't know whether the unborn child was still alive or not. Tears slipped down her face._

"_Help me!"_

_The priest, not knowing what to do, wrung his hands in misery whilst the Queen shouted out instructions for a potion to be made. This dangerous concoction, she had stumbled across in one of the manuscripts, so potent it was that the slightest error in ingredients would result in death._

_The priest knew he had to work fast, every second that passed a portion of his Queen's life slipped away. But deep inside there was a feeling of great dread. This potion, he'd only heard about in legend, encrypted in the Book of the Dead. It had the power to give life, but had other consequences, which were not mentioned. The descriptions had been so vague; it had taken Ishizu a good two years to decipher the clues._

_The steaming potion was made; it glowed a deep purple before settling, as the contents swirled ominously in the tiny goblet. Ishizu didn't know whether it had been made properly, but she had no choice now. She was on the brink of death; why not take a gamble with the gods? Dimly, she remembered reading of strange consequences, that everything had a price, but she dismissed it all now as she gulped the potion down in one go._

_Eyes watered, she choked and then screamed, clutching her throat, and fled to the priest's chambers in a desperate burst of strength. When the priest got there, he found the door locked and when he pressed his ear to the cold door he was met with silence._

_Now only time would tell whether it had worked or not._

_It was nighttime before the priest managed to summon the courage to venture to his chamber. Flame torch in hand, he tried not to think of what he might find; the stone-cold body, or his living breathing Queen, miraculously restored to full health._

_As he approached his chamber the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. It was quiet. Too quiet. And as the door came into view, he found it was open._

_There was definitely fear now, the flame wouldn't keep steady, and the priest felt an awful sense of foreboding. The eerie chill did nothing to soother his nerves._

_Peering inside, he saw nothing at first, but as his sight adjusted, he made out his room, illuminated from the outside by the white light of the pale moon. A sudden gust blew out his torch._

"_Faithful priest, I see you have come at last."_

_He shivered, as his Queen stepped into view, pale and haggard._

_Immediately he fell to his knees._

"_My Queen! You are alright?"_

"_Indeed," she replied. "I have never felt better."_

_Those words were spoken oddly, the priest thought. Risking a peek upwards, he saw how drawn her face was, the shadows beneath her eyes. She came towards him, arms open in greeting._

"_And y-your ch-child?" He stammered. Something was wrong; her bulge had gone._

"_Unfortunately he didn't survive."_

"_H-he?" How would she know?_

_His eyes roamed the chamber, coming to the bed. He let out an involuntary gasp of horror. There, lying in a pool of dried blood was the half-developed baby, Queen Ishizu's unborn child._

"_He would never have survived anyway," she murmured, offhand._

_Something was definitely wrong._

_He stumbled backwards, preparing to run away from this monstrous act, but before he could move it seemed Queen Ishizu had appeared behind him, blocking off the doorway._

"_Thinking of leaving?"_

"_W-what did you do to your child?"_

_Ishizu's face registered mild annoyance._

"_That does not matter. What only matters now, is that I am hungry, and I need something to eat."_

_Her eyes roamed his body ravenously, the priest made a sign to the gods, trembling._

"_The gods don't exist; I am the only goddess you have now."_

"_What are you saying?" The priest cried._

"_The potion, fool, you will not believe the doors that have been opened to my soul. I can…I feel so much different, so much more enhanced! You would not believe it all if I described it to you, humble priest."_

_The priest glanced desperately at the headless body of the unborn child._

"_I am no longer any mere mortal." She whispered, haunted._

_Suddenly she grabbed him, and put her face close to his. He could see the whites of her eyes, see the sheer desperation._

"_I have this burning hunger and I don't know what to do! It's driving me crazy, consuming all my thoughts! What have you done to me?"_

_She let him go, and he gasped for breath. Her grip had been icy, like stone._

"_I don't know."_

"_Help me! I can't control it, it's like having a demon inside my belly! How can I go on living, when this is tearing me apart?" _

_By then she was in tears, but the tears weren't ordinary, they were tinged with red._

_The priest buried his head in his hands. _

"_What have I done?" He cried. "My god, the demons must have done this, when you took the potion. They must have found a way to enter your body, to merge with your soul and become one! My Queen, I will do anything to make you back the way you were before!"_

_Her face changed, looked sly. "Anything…?"_

_But the priest didn't realise this as he threw himself at her feet. _

"_Yes, my Queen!"_

"_Well then, I shall have to take what is due mine." Ominously, she lifted the priest up, and stroked him gently, whispering to him that everything would be alright. She couldn't control herself any longer, and she bent down to his throat, feeling the skin break beneath her teeth, and as she drew his blood into her own, she whispered:_

"_You have done me proud, my priest."_

_

* * *

_

Muhahaha, cliffy time! I typed this up in the dead of night- when I get most of my inspiration of course. Sheesh, sometimes I wonder whether I'm a vampire in disguise

TBC...


	13. Legendary Tale: Part II

Quick recap:

Bakura takes revenge on Ryou for imprisoning Anzu by seducing Serenity, but Anzu doesn't see it this way. Hysterical, she cuts herself in her room, for too many things are happening, so many emotions are being stirred up that she can't cope any longer. Bakura rescues her, but she pushes him aside. Ryou decided to confront his counterpart and throw him out; they end up in the library where Ryou finds a book, the same one Duke's ghost hinted at in Ryou's dream, or was it all a dream?

Now, on with the story…

* * *

Chapter XIII: Legendary Tale- Part II

_The priest buried his head in his hands. _

"_What have I done?" He cried. "My god, the demons must have done this, when you took the potion. They must have found a way to enter your body, to merge with your soul and become one! My Queen, I will do anything to make you back the way you were before!"_

_Her face changed, looked sly. "Anything…?"_

_But the priest didn't realise this as he threw himself at her feet. _

"_Yes, my Queen!"_

"_Well then, I shall have to take what is due mine." Ominously, she lifted the priest up, and stroked him gently, whispering to him that everything would be alright. She couldn't control herself any longer, and she bent down to his throat, feeling the skin break beneath her teeth, and as she drew his blood into her own, she whispered:_

"_You have done me proud, my priest."

* * *

_

_She disappeared the next day, unable to tolerate the sunlight. The two bodies were found; all chaos erupted in the palace. Rumours spread that the two deaths were the vengeance of the late Pharaoh._

_No matter, Ishizu was driven to the brink of despair. She could only come out at night time, now being unable to tolerate the sun's piercing rays, and to keep her hunger satiated she had to take blood from other people, in the same way as she had done with the priest and her unborn child. This whole idea was enough to drive any person insane, but not Ishizu. For what didn't break her only made her stronger._

_Her citizens only saw her at night; she became a ghost to them, one to be feared by. Her name passed into myth, whispered in corners and behind veils. They were currently in the process of selecting a new Pharaoh. She paid less and less attention to the palace, and soon became cold and accustomed to killing in order to survive. But the despair never left her, and many times she wondered if it might have been better for her if she had died like she was meant to, for by cheating death, she had accepted a whole new existence._

_There was one memory that kept digging at her though- the memory of her brother. So many nights she wondered how he was doing, how he was getting on, so one night she made it her mission to find him. She found she could cover great distances in short spaces of time; distance was never a problem again._

_Soon enough, she stumbled upon his camp. There was one tent; a lot of commotion surrounded it. Slipping inside, she discovered that there was a man lying in there, dying._

_It was her brother Marik._

_Mortally wounded in battle, he'd been carried to this tent and left to make his last wishes. He'd been lying here for a week now, drifting in and out of consciousness. The wound had been professionally handled, but too much blood had been lost, and Marik had already succumbed to fever._

"_My brother!" She gasped, coming to his bedside. She shooed everyone else away, before retaking her place. Holding his hand, she stroked his hair, murmuring to him, willing him to wake up._

_Perhaps it was her touch, or the amount of power she already had to mentally influence people, but he woke up, and gazed at her._

"_How pale you have become, sister," he whispered._

_She touched his face._

"_Says you."_

_He flinched at her touch._

"_Your fingers are so cold."_

"_I know!" She cried, breaking up into tears again._

"_Your tears, they're red."_

_He struggled to sit up, wiping them away._

"_You've been changed in some way. You're not one of us anymore, are you?"_

_Sobbing, she recounted her whole story, retelling everything in immaculate detail._

"…_the hunger, it's always there. Marik, I have sinned so many times, committed the absolute act of taking away another's life. The blood is the only way that I can survive now; sometimes I wonder if I should've died. I know that part of me has."_

_He nodded._

"_And now, you're dying too."_

"_It won't be so bad," he murmured._

"_If only there was some way I could save you!" She cried. Suddenly her cold blue eyes lit up desperately. "The blood! If I can take it away and live, surely I can give life to others!"_

_Marik looked scared. "N-no, that isn't what I want!"_

"_Please! You can't leave me, I'm so cold!"_

"_No! You were always more fascinated by the dark arts, the Book of the Dead. Don't you remember how I never wanted that? I can't take your path."_

_He tried to turn away, but ended up in a fit of coughing._

_Ishizu fled in crimson tears, rejected, heart broken._

_She returned a few hours later, after a wander in the cool, still desert. From the dune she stood on, she could make out the army of the adversary, camped at the oasis. She marvelled at how she could see so far, but what would it matter if her brother died?_

_On her return, she asked the medical man how long her brother had left._

"_He has had a sudden shock that I can't determine the cause of, I'm afraid that he won't last much longer." _

"_How much longer?" She demanded._

"_A few hours at most," he said apologetically._

_There was no time to waste. If her theory was correct, then she could save him. If not, then she didn't know what she would do. _

_Creeping back into the tent, she stroked his hair and wiped away the beads of sweat._

"_There are no gods," she mumbled, before biting his neck and breaking the skin._

_A weak spurt of blood flowed into her mouth, trickling down her tongue. Lapping it up, she felt the same sense of pleasure and ecstasy that she felt with all the others she had killed, only this time the memories she felt were tinged with sadness and fever._

_She took enough to keep him barely alive. This was it. In seconds, she had broken her own skin, and let the drops trickle onto the wound she had made. When she saw the skin heal, she realised this was going wrong. Stopping at once, she broke his wrist skin and hers, and placed them together, letting her blood flow into his._

_Slowly, his complexion grew rosier, some life returned back into that pallid face of his. His breathing grew slightly faster too, but the blood still wasn't flowing fast enough. This time, she moved her wrist to his mouth, and forced him to bite down on her wrist._

_This he did instinctively; the transfusion was much quicker this time._

_When she felt that he had taken enough blood, she slipped away, and returned the next night to find him sitting up, wide and awake, only gazing around at everything in horror._

"_What have you done to me?"_

"_My brother!" Ishizu cried, taking him up in her arms._

_He pushed her away. "G-get away from me! What's happened? Why does everything look so strange? W-what…?"_

"_Shhhh," Ishizu soothed him, leading him out of the tent. She laughed at his bewildered stare, at him taking in everything new, for now that he had become like her; his senses too were heightened. Clapping her hands in glee, she danced across the sands whereupon she taught him everything she knew about herself._

"_B-but what kind of monster have I become?"_

_She looked so upset, so fragile then that he let himself be led by her._

_He never returned to the tent; the soldiers believed he had been visited and claimed by the gods, taken to the cities in the sky._

_Marik soon became as cold as Ishizu, losing all the humanity he retained and she lost all emotion she had left. For she had been reunited with her brother again; her foundation was steady. With him, she could do anything, and that is what they did. She spread her dark powers amongst many other people, finding that they were all forced to obey her like they had been when she was in life._

_Her vampire religion had been born, the dark numbers spread, causing misery and strife wherever they came upon. A new wave of monsters had been unleashed, by the fusion of demon spirit and human in a single potion. _

_Ishizu and Marik continued to spread their numbers, growing in power steadily over the centuries. But many of their kind was destroyed, through other events, and by slayers, humans that acquired an understanding of these monsters. For though there were many of them, their numbers were still nothing compared to the human race._

_They could only reproduce through the sharing of the blood, and this was done sparingly, so that a hierarchy evolved, with Marik and Ishizu at the top._

_And they have reigned in darkness since, cold statues side by side, as King and Queen, brother and sister, the perfect embodiment of evil._

Ryou closed the book and laid it on the table, turning to Bakura. He noticed the demon had turned even paler than before, and that he was shaking. Trembling…in _fear_? Had he ever seen him this frightened before? He knew by now that Bakura hadn't been with him before he'd lost his memory, so that meant that he must've had a past too. There were so many mysteries concerning Bakura; everything about him was shrouded in mist. So…who was he, and what was he actually afraid of?

* * *

Whoo, end of detour! The main story will be continued, butwill be interwtined with more of thelegendary tale. To everyone who has read the Vampire Chronicles, I took many ideas for the history of vampires from the novels, but hopefully I have added enough of my own touch for it to be orginal. (fingers crossed)

Sakina xxx


	14. Rendezvous with the Enemy

Authoress's Note:

Sorry I forgot to mention this, but the Pharaoh who Ishizu had married in the Legendary Tale is not the Pharaoh Atem/ Yami Yugi, but somebody else, a throwaway character who serves no other purpose, not that I can think of so far…

Anyway, Yami Yugi will appear later on in the story, in Bakura's time period- which isn't for another few years- when Bakura is able to add his own side to the Legendary Tale, but for now…

Double-crossings, double dealings and traitorous acts will follow here in our gothic tale of angst, despair and the quest for truth. Enjoy!

8/12/05

* * *

Chapter XIV: Rendezvous with the Enemy

_Shadow and mystery at every turn  
__Lies behind my mask, when will you learn?  
__The truth behind my eyes, for soon you will see  
__So are you ready to dance with me?_

"Greetings," Anzu murmured, staring at the table. "I'm glad you decided to join me."

"How could I refuse?" The mysterious figure known as Kaiba replied.

Anzu had been sipping a steaming mug of coffee- her one time stress relief, her anchor to the ground, waiting in a shadowed corner of the café. How she'd managed to sneak out of the mansion she didn't know, but Ryou and Bakura must've been so engrossed with whatever they were doing in that library to not have noticed. The mug warmed her shaking hands; her hollowed eyes followed the steam rise from the mug when he'd appeared, still as a shadow.

_Seto Kaiba, legendary Duellist extraordinaire and Slayer of the Undead_. His very words when he introduced himself.

"So, how may I help you?" His blue eyes travelled up and down Anzu, assessing her. "I trust that you are well?"

She nodded, her gaunt face betraying her actions and he sat down. He was still wearing his trench-coat, and Anzu found herself drawn to the intricacy of the design, to the gothic details she had missed when she'd first encountered him properly.

"The vampire fixed me up," she said monotonously, eyes darkening.

Kaiba opened one side of his trench-coat to reveal a row of shining stakes, flares, and other assorted weaponry. He took out a deck of cards, closed Pandora's Box and once again he was shrouded in mystery. But Anzu had seen a glimpse of what Kaiba carried around with him, and couldn't help wondering what sort of man it was that felt the need to have himself protected at all costs.

He shuffled the deck and drew a card. Gazing at it, she saw his eyes glow for a very brief second.

"It seems that you are to be trusted," he said shortly. "For now."

"Very well," she replied. "I see we may be able to come to an agreement."

So emotionless, Anzu added in her mind. What had happened to Kaiba, to make him the way he was?

"I have a proposition. I know you are seeking out the Vampire Bakura, and I can tell you I know where it is that he resides." She kept her tone as formal as possible, trying to keep the shaking out of her voice. Kaiba watched her with renewed interest. She swallowed, before carrying on.

"I am willing to tell you where he is, in exchange that I will have your full protection and that you…" here came the hardest bit. Anzu bit down, clenched her fists. The quaver was definitely there now. "…that you give me your word that you will…destroy him. But leave the other boy be." The last bit came out desperate, to her ears as well as Kaiba's.

The mug of black coffee had arrived for Kaiba now; he sat gazing into it's murky depths as he pondered the proposition.

"I know you will find him sooner or later," she whispered, hollow-eyed. "Why not make it sooner?"

"Why is it that you wish to see him destroyed?" Kaiba asked finally. He gazed at her full on, intense and she was suddenly struck by how attractive he really was, underneath that whole cool countenance. How his chestnut hair caught the light, highlighting each individual strand, and when he'd opened his trench-coat she'd had a tantalizing glimpse of a smooth muscular body underneath that shirt, which was open at the collar. The way he played with fire, had the very magic in his eyes. Even now, she saw herself reflected in the burning flame that danced in his intense, cold eyes, only right now they didn't seem to as cold as usual. They looked as if they were in pain.

"I…I have my reasons." She left it at that, not feeling up to opening her heart and soul to a stranger.

Something that had been nagging her arose in her mind. "Why have you chosen this path of destruction? Surely you know the consequences of your actions will be avenged."

Kaiba laughed coldly. "I believe not in fate, the gods, nor in the abilities of those creatures that call themselves the supernatural, be it vampires, werewolves or any other paraphernalia."

He hadn't answered her question; she didn't pursue any further. Anzu took another sip. "So, do we have a deal?"

Kaiba thought for a moment, then nodded. "Deal."

Suddenly she looked frightened, as if realising what she was about to do. The demon must have some sort of hold on her, Kaiba thought, frustrated. But where his influence hasn't reached, that part can be so much easier to break.

"The vampire will be destroyed," he said, reassuring her. He rested his hand on hers and added, "For this, you have my word as a Duellist that you will be protected, and if this isn't enough to persuade you…"

Anzu's eyes widened as he produced a wad of bank notes from inside his trench coat. She grabbed the notes hungrily and stuffed them into her pocket.

"Should be enough for you to pay off your rent, and any other hindrances you may have left financially-wise. Enough for a moderately comfortable life, I should say."

Anzu nodded furiously. "Thank you ever so much, Mr Seto Kaiba."

Kaiba smiled thinly. "Kaiba, please. Now, back to business. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that you must not leave out any details…"

xXx

Bakura cocked his head. "Where is Anzu?"

It was too quiet, too silent. He couldn't feel the thoughts of that brat woman, and whilst he might have relished in that he knew that it wasn't right, that she'd run away again. She'd hurt him bad with her poison dagger words. But he would hurt her even more.

The rest of last night had passed in silence, with Bakura withdrawing into Ryou's mind after the reading of the Legendary Tale. Though it was day, Bakura didn't seem to notice the harmful rays of the sun piercing his spirit body.

"Where is she?"

He stared at Ryou, before picking himself up and left, silent as a ghost.

xXx

Why had he kissed her before he'd left? Anzu pondered over this, face red as she hurried through the maze of streets, in the direction of her apartment. She'd promised Kaiba that she would send him more of her paintings, once she was out of here. She'd always wanted to go to Europe; that place was the heart of gothic activity.

There was a pang in her heart as she remembered her first and last dance with the vampire Bakura, but she brushed it aside along with the thought that she'd never have to set eyes on him again.

To make sure that she would have protection, Kaiba had agreed to brand her with some sort of magical seal. That way, she would have a magical connection that she could use to summon him when she was in trouble. But, of course, he said that it would take him a day to make the seal. So he'd suggested that she move all the things in her apartment to his mansion. He hadn't told her where the mansion was, only that there would be a limousine waiting for her outside the square.

So much for the issue of trust.

Instead of the seal he'd given her a Duel Monsters card, a card with magical properties that allowed her to communicate with him. It was very low grade, and temporary of course. She remembered the tingle as he'd pressed the card to her forehead; remembered how close he'd been to her. Gazing at her reflection in the shop window as she'd left, she had been able to make out the faint golden lines of the seal etched into her forehead just before they disappeared.

Anzu was at her apartment door when she felt the icy breath of the undead behind her. In trepidation, she whirled around to find the vampire Bakura glaring at her with a fury as intense like one she'd never seen before.

"You're coming with me!" Bakura's face was twisted in rage as he grabbed the screaming Anzu by the roots of her hair.

"No!" She yelled, fighting him. Her key fell to the floor; Bakura picked it up and dropped it into his pocket, brushing it almost tenderly. A wicked smile appeared on his lips.

_Help me!_ She screamed to the defiant Kaiba in her mind. Suddenly a thought occurred to her. He hadn't actually told her how this seal was supposed to work, how she could send her thoughts? Perhaps he thought there hadn't been any point, seeing as how she was due at his mansion in an hour.

Clutching her struggling body close to him Bakura stroked her hair, and smiled when she pushed him away, cursing him with all her heart. Of course, he let her push him away; if he wanted to, he could break every single bone in her brittle body.

His anger returned when she managed to turn her body around and brought an arm up to slap him in the face.

"You dare to hit me again!" His dark eyes were blazing crimson, anger spilling from his soul as he returned the blow. She gasped as a streak of blood ran down her face, eyes wide in fear. Shaking, she turned away from him in fury as he wiped it away with a finger and licked it, savouring the taste.

"Just you remember all that I have done for you, the next time you try and take off like that." The light hurt him, his flesh was already burning, his power lessened as the autumn sun beat it's watery rays relentlessly upon his back.

"Just remember that without me, you could be wandering the Spirit Wasteland right now, or even worse, the Shadow Realm."

His eyes gleamed at that.

Clutching her close, he took off, and didn't say a word until they got back, whereupon he threw her into her room and promptly locked the door, not caring for how many bones he broke.

* * *

So, how was that? Any questions, or any bits that don't make sense, feel free to ask! 


	15. Flee

If you were hoping for a much more exciting chapter, I'm sorry if I disappoint you! Inspiration has completely pulled out on me, and this chapter may be rewritten in the future.

13/12/05

* * *

Chapter XV: Flee

The figure stood on the roof; arms open, embracing the sunlight. He looked like a total monstrosity, for the light had pierced his body so that his flesh was peeling, and half his face was a shiny poisonous red. His hair was matted, and clothes torn though his eyes were livid, completing the portrait painting of the very devil by day.

"You will not _believe_ what that brat woman has done!" He yelled to the empty air. "Human vampire, do you hear me?"

"Yes?" Ryou answered back, wearily, speaking from the soul room within his own mind.

Bakura spun around, eyes narrowing as Ryou materialised out of the air. He gasped in horror at what Bakura had done to his body, then shook his head sadly. What could he do?

"That brat woman, Anzu, she only just attempted to run away." Bakura clenched his fists, chin thrust out. "I should have her murdered ever so slowly for that act of pure defiance! Nobody defies me, the Great Vampire Bakura, and expects to-"

"Stop shouting Bakura, please, calm down," Ryou winced. How his body ached!

Bakura ignored him, and continued with his outburst, only now he had calmed to an icy cool which was in fact more sinister. "Why, she should learn to be more grateful, for bodies are so very easily broken, much like hearts. How fun it would be to pluck out her eyes…I should just tear out her hair right now…ever so slowly…after everything _I've_ done for her!"

"You're used to getting your own way all the time, aren't you?" Ryou interrupted suddenly, glancing sidelong at the demon.

"Don't try to read between the lines, fool," Bakura hissed venomously.

"That's why you hate us so much, hate this era that you've woken up in. It must feel so much like a curse, right?"

Bakura's eyes narrowed, but he didn't speak.

"Whoever you were, whatever lives you have stolen from others, I bet all your other hosts were easy to seduce, easy to manipulate, hmm? You must've had such a grand life. Well then, where is she, your precious brat woman that you loathe with a passion?"

"She's-" Bakura began, momentarily thrown off guard. His cheeks were burning. "And why should I tell you, _you_ of all pathetic fledglings?"

"Well then, I will have to check all the rooms. Wouldn't want you doing something to her you might regret, not now that you've grown so attached. Oh, and I'll make it my priority to start on the first floor. I heard an awful lot of screaming up there."

Ryou glided away, smiling serenely. He'd won this round. In all his rage, Bakura had lost the one thing that had enabled Ryou to gain the upper hand, his self-control. Well, if this continued… the answers might not be so far away after all…

xXx

"This situation has grown out of hand. We should've dealt with it right from the start, it's no use going quietly now, we can see the target is too strong, not one of the weaker ones. The number of deaths has grown exponentially and if we don't do anything then the public will grow suspicious, as many have already done."

"Good thing nobody believes in vampires then."

"We cannot have a replay of the Blood Ages, I repeat, do you understand?"

"Yes Sir, this situation will be hushed up and taken to Protocol Seven immediately."

"Good. I want that vampire in the Pentagon by sundown, understand?"

"Right, Sir. Do you want me to take this case private or shall I send a SWAT team?"

"Don't bother. My sources have already informed me that a Mr Seto Kaiba is planning to take the target out himself. Just make sure that you will be on the scene as soon as he weakens the vampire sufficiently and capture the target alive."

"Yes Sir, right away sir."

xXx

"You did what!" Ryou exclaimed.

Anzu nodded, tears slipping down her china face. "I d-didn't know what I w-was thinking, I-"

"-only gave away our location to the most dangerous man there is here, one who has already shown the extent that he will go to, to reach his goals."

"Your face," Anzu said quietly. "Why has he chosen to punish you too?" She was referring to Bakura's act of letting Ryou's body burn in the sun.

"I'll get over it."

Ryou grabbed Anzu's arm and rolled up her sleeve. He drew his finger across the place where Kaiba's bullets had penetrated her arm, in an arc that spread across her back.

"You are lucky to be alive," he said quietly. "More so than me, one who doesn't even know what I am."

He turned away, walked to the high windows.

"You're…" Anzu began, touching his shoulder. She knew how sensitive this topic was. "Whatever you are, be it demon or _human vampire_ as your…friend calls you, you are not a monster. You still have the humanity, whatever happened to you didn't change you for the worse. You can still go out in day, can you not?"

"But the blood!" Ryou cried desperately, flinging his arms up in despair. He buried his face in his hands. "Vampire, freak, I'm a mutant monstrosity, that's what I am!"

"Shhh," Anzu murmured, distraught. She didn't know what to do. Seeing Ryou had made the tears well up inside; she didn't know whether Kaiba would actually… but on the other hand, how Bakura had hurt her! And Ryou, why did Bakura have to make him suffer even more so too? She knew what pain he was in right now, how his skin was cracked and bleeding. She saw herself on the firing squad at the crack of dawn. They aim, and fired, and in that second, she had been shattered for a second time. Yet, that moonlit night! That magical feeling, everything she'd dreamed of!

"I…I don't know what to do!" Anzu wailed, bursting into tears again. She hadn't told Ryou about her deal with Kaiba yet, that he was to destroy the vampire and that from giving away their location, she would gain protection.

But what protection had she received yet?

Nothing, she thought, trembling.

Ryou held her in his arms, wanting to comfort her yet wanting to push her away. If only she was Serenity instead.

"We need to leave as soon as dusk has become night."

"Where is Bakura?"

"He's out hunting," Ryou replied, wrapping spirit arms around her, hushing her, longing for Serenity.

xXx

Kaiba slipped his trench-coat on and paused to glance into the mirror. He smiled at his own image- at his windswept hair and sea-blue eyes, before his face clouded. Whenever he looked at himself he saw Mokuba, and for that he hated his own image as much as he adored himself.

"That Anzu girl didn't show up at the appointed time, but I hold nothing against her. She provided me with a magnificent painting and even more important, this precious knowledge so it is only she who is losing out on the bargain."

Holding the stake to the waning light, he thrust his chin out defiantly.

"This one's for you, Mokuba."

xXx

Fifteen deaths, Bakura counted in his mind. _What a record tonight._

As the times went on, mass killing had become harder and harder as technology had advanced onwards. The most number of mortals he'd been able to slay in the last century had been seven people, and even then he'd escaped from the mob just by the skin of his teeth.

_I wonder why nobody has been suspicious at all. I mean, of course these deaths have made it into the mortal news; I wouldn't have had it otherwise._

He almost didn't notice the footsteps that were beating in time to his, in so much ecstasy he was at that very moment in time, but time had taught him to be alert, and if it wasn't for that he wouldn't still be here.

A sharp duck, as a jewelled javelin sailed past him, slicing through the air where his head had been a second ago.

He whipped around, shirt and jean fabric following a split second after. Damn, he couldn't make out anything, even with his heightened vision. Nightmare shadows loomed at him, and the last blood drops of the sun splashed across the horizon. The day had truly given itself over to the night.

He prepared himself for battle, struggling to summon the height of his powers. What was going on? He felt so sluggish- it was as if the air was oppressing him, weighting his power down, suppressing them.

"Show yourself!" Bakura commanded.

Nothing.

A rustle, then an axe sailed out from a totally different angle. Dodging that, Bakura whipped to the right as a series of daggers flew at him, all coming from different directions.

Unnerved, he gazed on, wild as an animal, petrified. What in the name of the Gods could move this fast? Was he facing one foe or many? Who could've known what he was without having ever seen him before in their lives?

_Kaiba._

The name blasted itself into his mind, jolting the very fabric of his thoughts, and without another glance he took off, shaken to his very roots. The name had imprinted itself into his mind, electric pain that tore through his soul. In the distance, he could hear the sound of maniacal laughter chasing him as he flew like an arrow, heading straight for the mansion.

xXx

"He is coming."

Ryou knew as soon as Bakura shot home, howling with agony.

"Kaiba. It is inevitable now; we will leave as soon as possible. And I'm afraid that you will have to come with us, for your own protection as much as ours."

Anzu almost laughed. There it was again, the word 'protection'. All the security she ever wanted, offered from both sides. Which one would she choose, or did she have no choice anymore?

"Only you have seen us with mortal eyes and have survived," Ryou continued, referring to himself and Bakura. "And such knowledge is very easy to extract from one's mind under the right circumstances. Your bags have already been packed, we're leaving."

All Anzu could do was to nod, hollow-eyed as she was swept up into the ride of her lifetime. The heavens were mapped out for her, icy white points of light against a backdrop of eternal darkness as she was carried to the skies, trembling, knuckles white. And though she knew that on any other occasion she would enjoy this sight, she couldn't do this, not tonight.

xXx

"Fifteen deaths!"

"Dammit! The fiend has just fled to another country! What shall we do, Sir?"

"We? I am correct, am I not, in pointing out that this is _your_ blunder, not mine?"

"Y-y-yes, Sir. I'll rectify the situation right away, Sir!"

"No need. The fiend is someone else's problem now."

"…"

"Well?"

"I honestly thought that the Seto Kaiba would take him out there and then."

"But he didn't."

"In-indeed. W-w-why, Sir?"

"How in the blazes am I supposed to know? I'm not God! How am I supposed to know what kind of game both those sick twisted beings are playing? I want that report in by Monday, and I'll need figures on the space program budget too. And give my secretary a call for me; tell her I need a latte. Well, what're you waiting for?"

* * *

For the record- the dialogue inserts don't have a lot of relevance to the story so far, but they are there to show that Ryou and Bakura have far more enemies than they'd anticipated, and in much higher places too. Uh oh… 


	16. Invitation

Updates won't be coming quite so frequently now that we're approaching the Christmas holidays, and this chapter may not make a lot of sense- what happens when I stay up too late soaking in computer beams.

I've chosen to introduce an OC in here, and I am hoping that he won't appear to be a Mary-Sue in my reader's eyes (prays to the skies). Just a little warning in advance (dives undercover)

* * *

Chapter XVI: Invitation

_Footsteps everywhere, the steady rhythm of the innocent and the ignorant as they continue about their lives, head bowed down or hidden by their umbrellas. This foreign soil does me good, I find I am quite at ease in this dark gloomy city. Everything is grey, colourless, even the rain. _

_This is all just a game to me. I'm willing to play hide and seek for as long as it takes, but the end will always be the same. _

_Vampire, I know you're in London… _

_Come out, come out wherever you are…_

xXx

Bakura shivered. Whatever Kaiba had done, it had certainly left a lasting impression on him. The demonic spirit was uneasy, paler than ever. They had settled in the heart of the restless city of London at first, but the constant drone of car engines and the buzzing of the neon activity had not gone well with Bakura, and so they had moved out into a mansion nearby, which Ryou had 'acquired'. Though not as grand as the one in Domino had been, it was still gothic enough to make him feel at home.

Anzu had retreated into herself, painting more and more, whimpering at the slightest disturbance. Her eyes shifted nervously to Bakura, the shivering vampire demon who was currently sat in an armchair, and she flinched when he turned away from her, choosing instead to bury himself into the plush velvet.

"He has been marked with death."

Ryou stood with his back to them, gazing out of the window. He was wearing a blue jacket and trousers, trying to draw as little attention to himself as possible. Bakura, on the other hand was decked in a white open shirt; the flowing ruffles about his open collar hinting at pale muscular breast bone. To complete his eighteenth century look he had on a pair of tight black leather pants.

Ryou thought over the last few weeks. Since his arrival in England, he'd found the place very depressing indeed. It rained constantly, and the monotonous grey weather was doing nothing to placate his insatiable thirst for his past.

Were they safe? Probably not. Kaiba lurked at the back of his mind like an unwanted shadow, gathering his forces in darkness. Why had he been marked? Kaiba seemed to be very experienced; Ryou found it rather odd that Kaiba liked to toy with him and Bakura so. He'd already come close to destroying them both twice, and Ryou knew that Kaiba could if he wanted to. Did that mean that Kaiba had done this before? If yes…then did that mean there were other vampires?

"Who am I?" He slammed his fist against the windowpane, causing the glass to rattle.

"Glass is so easily broken," Bakura muttered, lifting his head.

His eyes met Anzu's, and he scowled, expecting her to turn away, his wrath not yet fully subsided. But to his surprise she did not. She met his gaze full on, calmly. He tossed his snow-white mane defiantly and Anzu returned to her corner.

Everyday, so far, she'd lived in a dream, enclosed in her own bubble. Ryou was beginning to wonder if he was actually doing her more harm by keeping her close than distancing her. He thought that perhaps she would be safer from Kaiba, but maybe living this life of isolation had taken more out of her than he realised.

He'd taken her out for walks, but it was like dragging a limp doll. Wherever her mind was, it certainly wasn't with her body. And the feeding…he was always with Bakura now, keeping an eye out, watching Bakura's back, for three times now, when he had turned his back on his dead victims, a split second later they had moved; they were in a completely different position. It was unnerving, the bats that followed them in the night, the discarded duel cards lying feet away from his victims, appearing seemingly out of nowhere.

And who else could do all this, keep him unnerved by playing these mind games, than Seto Kaiba?

The final showdown would happen sometime, Ryou knew Kaiba was just flaunting his power. The question was when? And would he and Bakura be prepared to fight back?

The answers lay in his and Bakura's past, he needed to know how to unlock Bakura's powers. Whether the vampire demon was refusing to tell him, or simply couldn't remember was one thing, his refusal to comply and let Ryou into his thoughts was another.

"I'm going to do the shopping," Anzu murmured listlessly.

Bakura's ears perked up to the sound of that. It had always been Ryou who went out to make purchases. He was the only one who actually had any desire to face the outside world.

Anzu slipped on her coat dully and trudged out. Bakura, in spirit form, got up silently and followed. She was tying her shoelaces when she found him stood right next to her, arms folded, gazing down at her with a look she couldn't decipher.

"I hope you're not thinking of running away again are you?"

"Wouldn't dream of it," she replied flatly, straightening up. Her eyes had lost that defiant spark, Bakura knew he'd broken her. But had he gone too far?

Taking a step towards her, she flinched when he laid his cool ethereal arm on hers, but didn't retreat. He held her close to him, cradling her, and his soft touch made the tears well up in her eyes. Suddenly she pushed him away violently and ran out of the house, tears sparkling in the air, only this time, Bakura knew she was going to come back.

Bakura's smile faded as he saw two gleaming letters on the mat. No one had ever sent them any letters…Bakura was suspicious. He stared at the fancy scripts, old fashioned, yet oddly compelling. One written in emerald green ink, the other in blood red.

If he had been able to unlock his powers he would've been able to form an image in his mind of the people who'd written this letter from the script, but as it was, the knowledge lay elusive, like it did every time he awoke in another incarnation. Damn this stupid life! He swore, kicked the door shut and stomped back into the drawing room.

"Letters."

"What?" Ryou spun around. "Where?"

"Front door, get them yourself."

Ryou sighed, and left to fetch them. Whatever pleasure Bakura could get…

xXx

"I am going to meet this Artemis," Ryou murmured, staring into the distance. "He may know something about my past."

"Can you trust him when you don't even know who he is?"

Ryou glanced back at the letter.

_Stranger, _

_For if you are as inquisitive as you are fair then I am safe in presuming that you won't pass up this opportunity for a rendezvous with somebody who has something to say. I find the grounds at the Natural History Museum to be of pacified privacy, and I prefer to see the sun set before initial contact. Darkness is always more secretive, I believe. _

_Artemis _

A click at the front door snapped him back to reality. Anzu had returned with the shopping. She set the bags meekly down, before running to her room.

Ryou shot Bakura a look, as if to say "what was that all about?" but thought better of it. Checking his reflection in the window to make sure he looked alright, Ryou nodded at Bakura, before taking his leave.

It was only after Ryou had left that Bakura noticed he hadn't even opened the other letter. The blood red ink drew him and before he knew it the letter was open, contents out for all to read:

_One day you will have to face me again. Sometimes you can't run away forever, my eternal sweetheart. _

Bakura scrunched up the letter and tossed it away, before he realised the ink was written on papyrus reed.

xXx

Artemis was lounging against the park railings, hands in his pockets when Ryou arrived. His violet eyes were surveying the scene coolly, lip curled disdainfully at the flocking pigeons pecking around his feet.

"Begone!" A violent flick of the wrist and the birds took to the crimson skies.

Ryou stayed at the edge of the park, ducking behind some conifers.

Artemis had his back to Ryou. "You can come out, vampire, the feathered rats will bother us no more."

Ryou stepped out of the shadows and he turned around, so they were face to face for the first time.

He was only a teenage boy, the same age as Ryou was before he was changed, or even slightly older. He had thick black locks that were tinged with a deep purple, and they framed his face, hugging his sharp angular features. He wore a long open coat, which complemented perfectly with his tight trousers and shirt. All in all, he looked the cool distant type that you really wouldn't want to meet. Right now though, his eyes registered amazement.

"Ryou, so it is really you!"

His scowl was replaced by a genuine smile, and his face lost that darkness which he had had before.

"A-artemis?" Ryou asked uncertainly.

"So you don't recognise me?" His crisp British accent finally evoked some form of recollection in Ryou's mind.

"W-wait…I do know you. You were…in…my class in primary school, b-before I moved away."

Artemis inclined his head.

"Indeed. You've changed, Ryou, loads. I couldn't believe it at first…I mean, everybody here knew about your accident-"

_Accident?_

"-fatal, they said…we all thought…I thought…I never thought I'd ever see you again. Not like this."

"I-I know." Ryou's answer was tinged with sadness.

"How did it happen? What was it like?" He was referring to the transformation of course.

"I do not remember," Ryou said quietly. "B-but…how have you tracked me down?"

"When news is heard of somebody up and moving, who is supposed to be dead, no matter how obscure the source, then it is never too hard to delve into the matter. I make it my business; vampires and the supernatural are nothing special in my eyes."

"How do you…know what I am…and aren't you afraid of me?"

"Afraid of you!" Artemis scoffed. "I'm sorry if I sound egotistical but I've dealt with far worse beings than the likes of you."

There was a brief silence. Ryou found himself watching the wisps of cloud scud across the ever-darkening sky.

"I'm not going to destroy you, Ryou old friend, at least not yet. I have no motive to. No, all I wanted was to see if it was true, that you'd become one of the undead."

Ryou was suddenly alarmed. "Destroy me?"

"Don't worry mate, I said I wasn't going to."

"What are you?" Ryou cried.

Artemis sighed. "I'm no professional Duellist, but I do have a tendency to dabble in magic of sorts. I have the gift of the Sight, and for that many Duellists have come to me for one reason or another. You could say I'm more of a scholar. Now, I could make quite a living out of my gifts, but this isn't what I want."

He looked like the truly intelligent person he would've become if he wasn't tinged with the guilt of darkness, but still there was some sort of desperation in his wise yet sharp features.

"What is it you want?"

"That does not matter right now. Anyway, it was the Seer's Sight that led me to know of your existence, that you were still well, relatively speaking, and that you were seemingly drowning in your own despair. Vampires have always existed; I feel their pain wherever I walk but yours was different. And so near too. I sense a great power about you Ryou, it is like you have an insatiable aura and that I don't understand!"

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because the next time we meet, we may not be on the same side. I am telling you this now as a friend would, but as a Duellist, bound to beings of a higher order, their identities withheld, it will be my duty to seek you out and destroy you, like the fabled Seto Kaiba has chosen to do so. Fortunately for me, you are his prize, not mine. I only hope that…I only wish…"

He broke off.

"I'm sorry Ryou, I really am. Sorry that your sister and your mother died and that you were always the odd one and that you had to become this monster…"

"What? My sister? Tell me, what!"

Artemis closed his eyes, and brought out a spell card.

"-but not as sorry as I am right now."

"No!" Ryou cried, eyes widening. He turned to run, but there was an explosion of pain, and everything went as black as the night.

xXx

Bakura sat bolt upright.

"W-what…what's happening?" Looking down, he saw his body disappearing.

Anzu walked into the room and screamed, dropping her silver tray.

"Help me!" Bakura cried desperately, but Anzu could only watch as he trickled away like the sands of time.

"I'm so sorry my dear that you too had to get involved," Artemis said as he stepped out from behind the door. He grabbed Anzu's hand before she could resist, and placed a stinking cloth over her mouth. As her vision swam, and the fumes overpowered her, she saw the limp body of Ryou lying a few feet away, bound and helpless, before she too passed out.

xXx

Artemis flipped his phone on and dialled a number.

"I've done all you asked," he said dully. "Now will you leave me alone?"

"But the gift of immortality could be yours!"

"I do not want it anymore."

"Don't lie to yourself, Artemis. You can't hide your darker nature so why not just set it free?"

"I'm sick and tired of your games. Do you know how much it hurt me to do that to my childhood friend?"

"I'm sure he won't see you as that when he wakes up in my abode. Why did you tell him about his past?"

"Because that's what he wanted to know. Anyway, I didn't say that much."

"You said enough. He will be much harder to control when he wakes up because of that."

Artemis was suddenly scared. "What are you going to do to him?"

"Not much, as long as he cooperates."

"What about the girl? I didn't sense anything strange about her."

"What girl?"

Damn. He should've kept his mouth shut.

"Whoever she is, I want her in anyway. We need to sever all ties. Why don't you just accept your destiny?"

"Stop changing the subject. Anyway, we all have the power to choose how we live."

"But sometimes it is beyond our control, is it not? You should know that, you of all people. The sooner you accept, the sooner we can begin the Hunter's Rites."

"The dead should be left as they are!" He cried in anguish.

"Ahh, but one who has such great power as yours can change that, can't they? You know that, that's why you've immersed yourself in the life of the scholar, but you will never be free of your curse, o Hunter of the Moon, and don't you forget that I control you."

"Stop it!" Artemis cried and disconnected. He breathed deeply, and gazed distraught at the two unconscious bodies.

The sooner they were delivered the sooner he could be free.

* * *

**AN: **(cringes, as she expects a barrage ammunition fired at her) So, was my OC bad or not? I know people here seem to hate them, but the fact of the matter is this- the Yu-Gi-Oh crew all have histories and will all have interacted with many many people outside their group, and that isthe justification for my OC. He won't play too big a part in this fic, not in the main plot at least, but he may pop up again in the near future... 


	17. A Dark Horse Named Pegasus

Sakina gives her deepest apologies for being on hiatus for the last month! Phew, I finally had it out. What with exams, my hectic Christmas social life and our school strike, I've been so busy that I haven't been able to update until now. Don't kill me, please…

I love writing the dream sequences; as I can incorporate so much gothism and romanticism into them! I recommend you to listen to Symphony X's Candlelight Fantasia. It's amazing, and really draws you into the whole surreal fantasy world of mirrors, darkness, candlelit rooms and despair!

17/1/06

* * *

Chapter XVII: A Dark Horse Named Pegasus

_Ryou walked through the lonely halls, his footsteps echoing forlornly across the solitary expanse. The halls seemed to stretch on forever, one corridor leading into another. Something told him to stop._

_From the distance, he heard the steady beat of footsteps coming towards him. He waited patiently, and finally, he saw two figures emerge from the twilight. They were too far away for Ryou to make them out clearly, but it was definitely Duke, and he was holding hands with someone else._

_As they drew nearer, Ryou saw that the other person was a girl. She was smiling serenely, her eyes seeing past Ryou. She had long brown hair, and deep sad eyes. Wisps of her hair fluttered behind her in an invisible breeze, and she wore a simple blue frock._

_They stopped, a few metres away from Ryou._

"_Duke."_

"_Ryou." Duke nodded in acknowledgement. The girl continued to stare dreamily, not taking anything in._

_Ryou reached out to touch her hand, but Duke drew her back, away from Ryou._

"_Shh, she's so delicate!"_

"_Who is she?" He felt he'd seen her before, but Duke wouldn't say anymore._

_Suddenly her eyes locked with his, and with a tinkle of laughter she said, "These lit dreams can't burn alone…"_

_Her voice was like bluebells; he couldn't bear to listen. Her soft voice hurt him so, the purity and sincerity robbing him of any sanity._

_Ryou turned around, unable to look at her and found himself staring through the mirror's eyes, as mystic forces ebbed and flowed, slowly subsiding. When he blinked again everything had disappeared, and he was left in utter blackness. A tiny light flickered, spluttering into existence. _

_Candle fire._

"_These lit dreams can't burn alone…"_

xXx

Anzu moaned as her vision swam into focus. For a split second, she had a feeling of disorientation, that everything was pitching but it vanished as she focused on the pair of violet eyes blinking back at her.

The eyes receded and a figure stood up, with his back to her.

"So you're awake. I'm sorry for the chloroform, but it couldn't be helped."

"Nm…chloroform?" Anzu wrinkled her nose as she massaged her skull. Why wouldn't the headache disappear? It felt like a double drill concerto inside, no wonder she couldn't think clearly!

"There is water on the table to your right."

Indeed there was. Anzu tilted the glass and swallowed the water in one gulp. On the table was also a pitcher of water; she poured herself another glass (though it was hard work keeping the pitcher steady as she couldn't focus properly) and gulped that down too. All the while the figure remained with his back to her, gazing out of the window.

The meagre light filtered through, silhouetting the figure and allowing Anzu to see the room she was in more clearly. It was a sparse room, with a stool in the corner opposite the bed she'd been lying on. Apart from the table next to the bed and thin wardrobe, the room was bare and smelled of cheap rundown hotels.

Anzu cleared her throat, and the figure finally turned around. Black locks tipped violet, violet eyes, long black coat, distant expression…

"You!" She cried in dismay. Suddenly a thought occurred to her. She grabbed the hem of her top, and checked all the clothes she was wearing.

"You really have a low opinion of me, don't you?" There it was again, that calm, detached voice that slid against her ears like silk. He scowled, before shaking his head. "I'm sorry, that was very wrong- please excuse me, for I am in no position to talk."

"Damn right you aren't!" Anzu yelled, flying at him with fists of fury. "Where is he? Where is Bakura?"

Artemis winced, but he took the blows silently.

"What have you done to him, you traitor?"

"Bakura is elsewhere."

Anzu grabbed him by the throat, but he didn't react in any way.

"Why? And Ryou, too- he trusted you! I can't believe it! Out of all the slimy, vile, low acts- you know what? You should rot-"

"That's enough." With one arm he stopped Anzu's blows. "If that is all you have to say then I shall take my leave now."

Anzu stepped back in fright. There was a red mark on the side of his face where she'd struck him, yet he didn't seem fazed at all. Artemis dusted himself, before striding to the door. With a pause, he said, "I do not usually stay to make sure the prey is OK."

"Wait."

He turned around.

Puffing and panting, Anzu breathed hard, but the fire in her eyes was still there. "Tell me what you mean."

"I can't. It is my master's orders."

"Master? Look, kiddo, you're about the same age as me. What the hell kind of a job requires you to call your boss master?"

For a second, he looked as if he was about to answer, but his expression returned to that same detached one.

"I cannot say."

"You have to tell me something- you can't leave me here all by myself! Where the hell am I even?"

"You are in the East Coast of America."

"What!"

Artemis turned to leave. "You were never meant to be involved, but somehow you came into the equation. Think yourself lucky you are not where your vampire friend is right now."

Anzu's face tensed. "Wait- you can't go now! You owe me at least some kind of explanation for this."

Artemis stared at Anzu. He sighed, before complying. "Very well."

When they were settled, Anzu began- "I've already got the impression that you can't talk about your master dude, is that right?"

"That is correct, yes." Artemis bowed his head. "I am not at liberty to divulge in confidentiality."

"Yeah, yeah, so tell me about how you met him, how you came to be employed by him."

His face clouded for a second, but he must have decided it was safe, so he continued. "I was in America when I met him first. He'd heard of my skills with the Sight, and that I knew of Duellist magic, which is what I presumed he wanted to discuss when he called our meeting. But that wasn't to be- he had something he wanted to offer me. For a contract, of course- standard procedure…no, I can't say what it is…why not? I'd rather not- well, the contract was sealed, and all was well.

But then a few months later he contacted me again, only this time he said we had to meet urgently…what for? Look, I shall get to that bit… There was something different about him. He seemed excited, yet there was something…something wrong. I think I felt a shadow, a darkness about him, but I dismissed it. My desire for his offer overpowered everything else. I remember it being an overcast day, normal. He then said he could offer it to me here and now. I was excited, but I never expected…no! He said he was surprised too, and seemed to be at a loss, for whatever he had wasn't what he was searching for. He was very vague, no details, but then he grabbed me and I swear he…"

"He what?" Anzu cried.

"He…I can't remember…but then he stabbed me with a needle. What was so strange about that? I can't remember? Only since then, I've been bound to him, forced to serve him for…what? He'd changed…I don't think he remembered that day either, for his face was very feverish and I'm sure some dark magic was at work, but he seems to have some sort of recollection. He needed me for something…"

Artemis looked so glum there and then that Anzu threw her arms around him.

"It's OK! But…this doesn't have anything to do with you needing Bakura though," she said, still hurt.

"I know you are in two minds as to whether you wish to trust me or not. All I can say is, that unfortunate incident was part of my job, and now I am needed elsewhere."

Anzu let go of him; tears welling up.

"Why!" Clenching her fists, she kicked the stool and slammed her arm into the wardrobe. "What use is there in me beating you? My blows don't hurt you; there is no way you can feel how much you have hurt me."

"Believe me, I do know," Artemis said. "We will meet again, Anzu, and I can assure you that although your friend is with my master he is nowhere near my associate Seto Kaiba."

"Yeah, that's nice to know," Anzu said sarcastically, sniffing, though she watched Artemis go until he'd disappeared.

Rummaging in the room, she found a wallet stuffed with cash. American dollars. So, that traitor Artemis does have a heart after all. And she still had all her money. Maybe there was still time to follow him and find out where Bakura was…

xXx

Slowly, the streams of consciousness returned to him. The light was white, blaring, it made him wince. It was there even when he opened his eyes.

"Bakura?"

There was no reply. Not even a sign that he was nearby.

Ryou strained to tilt his head, but found it almost impossible. What was happening? He tried to move his arms and legs too, but to no avail. He slanted his view and saw that he was strapped to a flat tabletop.

Now he panicked.

Lashing out with all his strength, he grunted but the metal clasps wouldn't shift.

"I wouldn't try that if I were you."

The voice was detached and floaty, almost singsong.

A whir, and a panel in the wall folded back to reveal a giant screen. There was a leather swivel chair, and a lavishly decorated room that looked out onto a splendid view of an island. The chair currently had it's back to him though.

Suddenly the chair spun round, and Ryou was face to face with his captor.

Ryou had an ominous feeling about him, as if they'd met before. Long white locks framed the man's face, and right now his lips were pursed in amusement. He looked like he was very rich, for he was dressed almost as lavishly as his room was decorated. What was most disturbing about the man was that he had a golden eye in one socket instead of a regular one.

"You really shouldn't try to escape for it's impossible, I believe. I should know, I designed the manacles according to your strength."

The man chuckled sinisterly. "And you really shouldn't be wasting it, not what you have left from the energy drain we administered to you when you arrived. Oh, I am going to have so much fun with you, little 'human vampire'. Especially when your vampire counterpart wakes up and doesn't have a clue where he is! Oh yes, there's no need to look so confused- your personalities have been separated."

Beads of sweat appeared on Ryou's face. "Who are you!"

"Allow me to introduce myself- I am Maximillion Pegasus, although others know me as Pegasus J Crawford."

"Pegasus! I'm gonna kill you!" Ryou cried, his first violent outburst since awakening.

The reclining figure smiled. Lifting a wineglass to his lips, he chuckled to himself.

"My, this _will_ be interesting."

* * *

This whole chapter hasn't been proof-read by me so apologies for any mistakes! 


	18. Strength of a Madman

Sorry about this guys! I know it's been absolutely ages-7 months urk- but I hope you'll still carry on reading and reveiwing. The past few months have been filled with exams so I've been studying like crazy... Sakina begs for forgiveness.

23.08.06

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Chapter XVIII: Strength of a Madman  


"Oh Bakura," Anzu murmured sadly. Her feelings for him were as confusing as ever, but she knew that he loved her in some tender twisted way of his, and it was that part that called her heart out to him. She knew that wherever he was, she would find him because underneath that cold outer exterior was a soul as lost as she was.

She ran out of the room with the wallet of cash and came to a high staircase. It had to have been what? Two minutes since Artemis left, but when she peered over the balcony there was no one in sight. She pounded down the stairs two or three at a time, ignoring the peeling walls and dusty scrawls. Man, this motel stank.

When she finally burst outside, she was almost blinded for a second by the intensity of the light, and recovered just in time to see a figure with violet tipped black locks get into a black limo which slid away like a satisfied cat.

Damn, what kind of trouble had she been messing with? She tried running after the limo, but of course that never works. It kicked off in a cloud of dust and she was left on the pavement, breathing heavily, feeling hopeless, lost in the East Coast of America.

Anzu felt tears come to her eyes, but it had been a while since she cried and she didn't plan on making it a habit so she steeled herself and swallowed her sobs down. When she had calmed enough, she took out the wallet and counted the money again, amazement growing with each passing second.

There was enough in here to fly around the world!

She sighed, weighing her options.

"It's hopeless, Artemis said so himself," she said to herself. "He could be anywhere at all. The only thing I can do now is to go home, pack up and start looking."

And with that determined, she set her chin straight and resolved to do everything in her power to find him. Even bargain again with Seto Kaiba if it came to that.

xXx

Kaiba felt it when Ryou had been knocked out and kidnapped. He seemed to have developed some sort of psychic bond with the vampire, which made the hunting all the more fun. Right now, he was sat in a cafe near Big Ben, sipping coffee as he flicked through the cards in his deck, testing all his spells. Suddenly his mobile phone began to ring.

"Seto Kaiba," he answered coldly after the first ring.

"Only you can be so much colder than me."

Kaiba jumped. "Yes?" Why was Artemis calling him?

"I need some help, my friend. It relates to your area of expertise."

Artemis calling for help…Kaiba settled down, intrigued. "Fire away."

Briefly, Artemis explained how since a certain period of time, he'd been unable to resist the beck and call of someone who'd been making him do undesirable things. Kaiba asked him a few questions, checking out the state of Artemis' health. Eventually he nodded.

"It's the blood. You told me he had a sample of your blood; if that is so then he is using blood to control you."

Kaiba could almost hear the sigh of relief on the other end. "So simple. The favour will be returned one day. For a moment I thought I was turning into a vampire."

Kaiba laughed, saying, "Then I'd have to kill you." He hung up, and resumed his coffee.

A shadow fell across his table, and when Kaiba looked up he found his view blocked by a group of men in black.

"Excuse me Sir, are we wrong in presuming that you are Mr. Seto Kaiba?"

"What do you want?" Kaiba said cautiously. He hadn't answered their question, but they seemed to take that as a yes.

"Why, we have come to offer you a deal."

Kaiba leaned back, letting his body language show he had relaxed. Inside, he was tense, fingers itching toward his deck. "What kind of deal?"

"Why, you are a man that gets straight down to business," a blonde haired man said, stepping out from the group. Kaiba identified him to be the leader. "Well then, why don't we as well?"

He made a motion and the group fanned out around the table. The blonde reached for a briefcase and laying it on the table, he flicked it open to reveal a set of black and white photographs.

"Know anything about these?"

Kaiba stared at the pictures. They were all of bodies…dead bodies. Dead, all with splashes of darkness. Blood.

"They were all found within the Domino City area. These photos are very sensitive material, please understand that, and we felt after a lot of consideration, especially after weighing up the chances of personality trauma that they would be worth showing you."

Kaiba finished leafing through the photos and met the blonde's eyes coolly. "No, I don't know a thing about these people."

"Then what about the vampire serial killer who did this to them?"

At that, Kaiba stiffened ever so slightly, but it was enough. He'd given the game away. "Mr. Seto Kaiba wishes to excuse himself." He made a move to stand, but…

"Not so fast."

The men formed a tighter circle, forcing Kaiba to stay seated.

"By the law, any information you hold back from the authorities is a crime in itself."

"I am well aware of that fact. What do you take me for?" Kaiba smirked. "Anyway, you have no jurisdiction in any territory other than that which encompasses Domino City. Here in London your word is your fool."

One of the other men nudged another, muttering darkly, "I told you it'd come down to this."

The blonde sighed wearily. "I don't want to make things difficult, so we are willing to smooth things over by offering you something in exchange for information regarding said serial killer."

"This information in exchange for what?" Kaiba's eyes narrowed.

"Oh, a 500 hectare square of land near your main headquarters to do with as you please, and 25 percent shares in the Gadget Duel company."

"51 percent."

The blonde feigned surprise. "Why, Mr. Kaiba, that would mean that you owned the company. 30 percent."

Kaiba thought for a second. "What happens if I say no?"

"Then when you come back to Domino City you will be arrested on the grounds of suspected illegal activity and your land searched for any signs of illegal duelling cards."

Illegal meant magic reinforced… "Done and dusted." He wouldn't give away everything, just enough information to make them think they were making progress. By the time they decided to take action the vampire would already be staked.

Blondie smiled. "I'm glad we could come to this agreement. Here's my card; we'll talk again."

And with that, he left, taking all the other Protocol Seven Spooks with him. He could tell the boss that there was no need for SWAT at all…yet.

xXx

Ryou stared wildly at the man on the screen who was smiling ever so happily. He tried and failed to comprehend anything beyond the fact that he was bound and chained to a table, probably about to be tortured or mutilated for some knowledge that he didn't even possess. He was at the mercy of this white-haired madman, and he didn't have the strength nor cunning of Bakura to help him.

Just then the screen went blank, and a second later he heard a door slide open. Two people in white gowns and masks entered, wheeling a whole tray of instruments. The man named Pegasus followed, clapping his hands and tittering.

Ryou craned his head, making out the blood red suit Pegasus was wearing, taking into account the distance it would take to cross to the exit. He decided it would be worth it to try again.

"What do you want?"

Pegasus paused for a second. "What do I want, boy? Oh, all I want is to be able to help you. And some of your blood. I'm the only one who can help you, you know, for I know the secrets to your dark soul. Don't you wonder how I knew who and what you are?"

"You lie!" Ryou cried, eyes narrowing. "Let- me- go!"

He struggled as his eyes followed the work of the medics around him, hustling and bustling as they set up their instruments.

"Let's make haste people! I have an appointment scheduled for three thirty." Pegasus stared hungrily at the boy on the operating table. This could be it! His dream of restoring his one true love could finally take place! With an almost manic glee he ordered the extraction to begin.

Ryou stiffened as he felt a needle slide into his arm. Something icy began to flow through his veins, then the needle began to extract blood. Blood… something in him responded to the smell, even though it was his own…some desperate part of him…

_Bakura responded to the smell like it was his last lifeline. He thrashed up from the lethargic murky depths, clawing his way desperately back into being, and then he was up. _

Pegasus raised an eyebrow, a distasteful look on his face. Something was wrong. The boy was writhing on the table, eyes bulging. He snapped his fingers.

"Withdraw the needle, and restrain him!"

Ryou bucked, convulsing. Suddenly Bakura burst free, and in one huge spasm the chains binding him to the table exploded. The two medics ducked, but at an agitated yell from Pegasus they hurried to restrain him.

"Not so fast!" Inside, Bakura was disorientated, weak, scared even, but he'd had a split second to assess the situation and that was enough. With a bound, he escaped the clutches of the medics and dived for the exit. One of the medics had caught hold of Bakura's sleeve but with a snarl he ripped the man off and threw him into the wall.

"No!" Pegasus cried, mouth wide in a surprised 'o' as he dodged the man. "Do not let him escape at all costs!"

But it was too late. Bakura was out, and finding the nearest window shattered the glass as he leapt out into the burning sun, howling as the rays struck him. The medics followed- one rubbed his side gingerly- both cowering, but Pegasus paid them no heed.

"Well this will prove interesting indeed. Have security follow him around for a bit to see if he goes up in flames or not."

"Sir…?" One of the medics enquired nervously.

Pegasus glared at him. "Did I just hear myself giving an order? I'll see you two in my office later for a little chat."

He stared at the disappearing figure of Bakura. We may not have all the blood we need, but we have enough for the experiments to begin…

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I'll try and get back into updating mode...hope you liked this. 


	19. Searching for a Secret

I guess a summary of the story so far is owed, seeing as it's been so long since I lasted updated cringe**  
**

**Summary:** Ryou wakes up as a human vampire with Bakura's soul inside of him. He falls in love with Serenity whilst Bakura has eyes for Anzu, a painter which causes many complications. They get attacked by Kaiba, a Duellist who kills vampires to avenge his brother, and so are forced to flee with Anzu to England. There, Ryou receives a letter from a childhood friend, Artemis, and they meet. It's a set-up, and Ryou gets kidnapped; Anzu deposited in a motel in America. Ryou wakes up in a white room where Pegasus tries to experiment on him- he manages to break free and escape.

* * *

Chapter XIX: Searching for a Secret

The light pierced him like a thousand daggers, but still he ran. There was no rational thought in his mind; each action was that of a fight or flight response. Confused, scared and in pain he cowered in the shade of the forest, the last few moments all a blur. Falling from the window, the wind knocked out of him, shards of glass ripping his skin, and the blood…the blood lust…a bird was whipped out of the air and it's head snapped off in an instant. The white haired monster snarled as it squeezed every single drop of the precious elixir into it's mouth, pink tongue lapping it up as if it's life depended on it. Which it did.

Once the blood lust had settled, Bakura slumped against the rough bark of a tree, sighing. He was quite a sight with his torn clothes, dirt streaked hair and multiple burn wounds from the sun. What has the white-haired Pegasus said about energy drain…and personality separation?

"Human vampire?" He called uncertainly into his mind. No reply.

"Damn!" The yell was painfully loud to his overly sensitive ears, but he cared not. In a rage, Bakura spent the next ten minutes carefully dismembering a line of trees, causing a path of destruction worthy of a tornado. Eventually he came to a cliff, signifying that he was in fact trapped on an island. The blue, blue sea stretched out as far as he could see, sparkling and twinkling in the late afternoon sun which continued to blind and burn him. He was past the pain threshold now. Ryou would've called him a masochist but…he wasn't here.

"Damn!" Bakura yelled again. He glanced at the castle from whence he'd came, and without another thought took off, fast as a blur as he rode the wind like white lightning. The world would pay. Starting with his blood thirst.

xXx

Ben wondered why he was working so late. He hated his job; rotten dead end work that got him nowhere. Editing newspaper articles was hardly the most aspiring of jobs.

"Kenji, I'm gonna go get a coffee," he murmured to the figure hunched over the computer.

"Righty," Kenji replied, eyes not leaving the screen. "Ben, could you get me one too?"

"Sure thing."

Ben stood up and waded through all the paperwork, muttering bitterly. This whole story was getting him nowhere. Who would've thought that a story with a mad murderer who drained his victims of blood, leaving two trademark puncture tints on their necks could turn out to be the most boring thing ever? Ben had thought of vampires, of dark legends long past, but his chief editor had said it was a load of nonsense. And whoever heard of vampires disposing the bodies in rubbish bags?

The news crew had picked up the story for a while, and then there had been the buzz but the whole thing had died down, thanks to people like his chief editor. Now there was almost a death a day, a remarkable figure for any mad murderer, but no one seemed to listen to him.

There was a scratching noise. Jumping, Ben spun around, eyes scanning the corridor wildly.

"K-Kenji?" Ben called nervously. "Who's there?"

He wrung his hands. It was a habit of his.

He swore he saw a shadow suddenly dart in the corner. Stifling a yell, he turned to run back, but a dirty transparent hand clamped over his mouth; another one pinned him face down to the floor. His eyes were wide with fear; sweat broke out over his forehead as the mysterious person turned him over so they were face to face. He choked back a sob.

"Heh, how does it feel to stare into the eyes of death?" Bakura breathed softly.

Ben's eyes pleaded desperately, and he struggled hopelessly with all his might. As Bakura sank his fangs into his neck and he entered the dying swoon, his last thought was how he had always been right, vampires did exist, and how the rest of the world owed him for that.

"Shame you'll never get your story published now," Bakura added, licking the blood off of his fingers.

_And those two men in the office had been ever so easy. Of course the other one would come running out screaming for the death of his poor friend, it could not be helped. And of course I would be there to comfort him, to draw him in, before taking back what is rightfully mine…The blood is always sweeter when you know it is yours._

xXx

_Kill, kill, kill._

Somewhere in all this Ryou surfaced blearily. Images swam in his mind, yet he felt suppressed, locked up in a box with no key. He banged repeatedly, eyes scared, but there was no reply.

"Bakura! Wh-where are you?" It was so dark in here. "I'm so…cold." If he could see, he would see his breath as a misted cloud. It was so cold…and lonely in here. Images and sound came as distorted surreal waves, and he deduced that they must be the emotions Bakura was experiencing. The emotions were as powerful as an earthquake, drumming into Ryou's mindspace in a rhythmic chanting that sounded oddly like…

_Kill, kill, kill._

"Bakura!" There was fear too. Bakura would have to figure it out himself.

xXx

To the passionate beaches of Spain, where the air was heavy with culture and romance, she followed him. To the mountainous regions of France, where the air was as cold as her lover was she went, always pursuing him.

Anzu was still chasing her dream of being a painter. Wherever she went, she left behind two or three paintings, unique works of art that exchanged hands almost as fast as her name was being whispered. She had no idea where he was, or even if he was still alive, but in her heart she knew.

Half a year later, she'd matured so much more. Her hair was now a shoulder length brown curtain, and heads turned wherever she walked. In the underground clubs and circles she frequented, she'd caught whispers of the angel she'd been painting. That he'd been seen. That was enough. Anzu strolled down the road, head held up high, on top of the world. One would just assume that she was another tourist who'd chosen to come to the marvellous city of Venice, to admire the beautiful waterways and breathe in the magnificent centuries of history. But now she had a purpose. She was going home.

xXx

Domino City. The home of here and now. Bakura passed a golden haired girl that he'd seen once before…half a year ago now was it? He'd been barely aware of his actions, slipping in and out of madness over the weeks. Something caused him to stop.

_Serenity._

Ryou's heart sped up as the flowery fragrance permeated his senses. Serenity…using all his strength, he yelled out to Bakura, who, in that moment of clear lucidity responded…both tore apart the walls that separated light from darkness…and then…they were reunited.

"Bakura!" Laughing through tears, Ryou hugged his counterpart, who prevented himself from smiling too much. "I missed you so much."

Ryou flooded into his body, and stretched, face beaming as he drank up the rays of the sun. Most of Bakura's burns had faded; even in madness he'd only chosen to come out at night. His pale hands felt so familiar…running fingers through his hair, he felt tears well up.

"I'm back."

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Updates will be quicker...so stay tuned! 


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